Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $92.79, but opened at $90.70. Arista Networks shares last traded at $88.58, with a volume of 2,136,890 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.47.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $108.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $81.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.60.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total transaction of $712,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 147,784 shares in the company, valued at $13,157,209.52. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,538 shares of company stock valued at $20,748,219 over the last ninety days. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company's stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its position in Arista Networks by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arista Networks

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.