Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 5.8% - Here's What Happened

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.64 and last traded at $72.67. Approximately 4,905,493 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 9,078,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Arista Networks from $118.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.29.

Arista Networks Stock Up 3.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $97.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.34.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $159,409.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $870,752.64. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $896,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 155,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,450,923.68. This represents a 4.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 412,355 shares of company stock valued at $39,446,799 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitlin John LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 335.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 179.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during 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.