Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Down 2.9% - Time to Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $99.82 and last traded at $100.87. Approximately 4,906,262 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 9,728,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ANET shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.79.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $113.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.28, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.09.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.65, for a total transaction of $825,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,721,666.90. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,488 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total transaction of $159,409.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $870,752.64. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,056 shares of company stock valued at $30,225,623 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 132 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 2,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 175 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 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.