Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 1.6% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Arista Networks' stock rose 1.6% on Friday, closing at $134.08 amid a significant drop in trading volume, indicating possible investor interest despite overall market conditions.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for the stock, with JPMorgan and Needham raising their target prices to $150.00 and $155.00 respectively, while 14 analysts rate it as a "Buy."
• The company recently announced a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan, suggesting that its leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $135.00 and last traded at $134.08. Approximately 2,669,867 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 10,467,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $89.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.07.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $167.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $113.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.80.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 192,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.67, for a total value of $26,953,376.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,623,721 shares in the company, valued at $785,465,112.07. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total transaction of $936,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 57,784 shares in the company, valued at $6,761,305.84. This represents a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,823,574 shares of company stock worth $721,676,802 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Arista Networks by 2,118.2% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 179.7% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Arista Networks by 381.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.