Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Down 2.6% - Time to Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $106.84 and last traded at $106.88. Approximately 2,758,516 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 8,713,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.79.

Arista Networks Stock Down 6.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.79 billion, a PE ratio of 49.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 40.29%. Equities research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $8,663,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,171.04. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 71,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.06, for a total transaction of $7,107,506.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,724 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,289.82. The trade was a 50.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 337,320 shares of company stock worth $37,946,706. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the third quarter worth $44,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 132 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 2,133.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 75.0% during the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 175 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.