Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 1.9% - Here's Why

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $92.60 and last traded at $93.92. Approximately 1,626,758 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 9,050,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ANET shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Arista Networks Trading Down 3.6%

The company's 50 day moving average is $85.82 and its 200-day moving average is $96.39. The company has a market capitalization of $115.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at $512,305.20. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total transaction of $620,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,840,249.20. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,690 shares of company stock worth $9,360,205 in the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 5.1% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.5% in the first quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 31.3% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. PFG Advisors grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 9.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.