Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $129.17, but opened at $109.62. Arista Networks shares last traded at $108.51, with a volume of 7,288,580 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANET. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.83.

Arista Networks Stock Down 22.5 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $110.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.26. The stock has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, insider John F. Mccool sold 2,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.83, for a total transaction of $226,200.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,887.76. This represents a 89.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total value of $9,477,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,266.72. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 343,992 shares of company stock worth $37,634,420 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 293.2% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 6,750,793 shares of the technology company's stock worth $746,165,000 after acquiring an additional 5,034,022 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 307.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,632,730 shares of the technology company's stock worth $512,056,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,497 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 473.2% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,326,274 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $146,593,000 after buying an additional 1,094,910 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 39,841.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 875,110 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,358,850,000 after buying an additional 872,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 335.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 717,251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $79,278,000 after buying an additional 552,350 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.