Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 2.5% - Should You Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $102.68 and last traded at $103.63. 2,442,482 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 9,113,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ANET. Wedbush assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.33.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.20. The company has a market cap of $133.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.23, for a total transaction of $2,397,980.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 592,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,637,052. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total value of $76,663,118.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,072,900. This trade represents a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,123,370 shares of company stock valued at $113,157,408 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 period. Quarry LP raised its position in Arista Networks by 381.5% during 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 during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 415.7% during 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 during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 82.47% of the stock is 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.

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