Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Given New $155.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• Arista Networks' target price has been raised by UBS Group from $115.00 to $155.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.75% based on the company's current stock price.
• The technology company reported earnings of $0.73 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.65, marking a 30.4% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Several investment firms have issued mixed ratings on Arista Networks, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $126.50.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $115.00 to $155.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ANET. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Arista Networks from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.15. The stock had a trading volume of 9,762,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,029,182. The firm has a market cap of $174.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.73, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $105.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.30. Arista Networks has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $141.01.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Arista Networks will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total transaction of $2,890,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 582,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,757,056. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total value of $243,175,176.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,698,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $776,191,640.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,228,907 shares of company stock valued at $638,699,061. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 433.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 193.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 98,094 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,397,000 after acquiring an additional 64,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.