Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 3.3% - Here's Why

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) dropped 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $86.54 and last traded at $87.24. Approximately 4,421,423 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 9,007,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $108.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $87.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.11.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. Arista Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 139,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,840,249.20. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,690 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,205 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 433.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 8,822 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Arista Networks by 338.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,281 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 7,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 285.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 19,882 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 14,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

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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