Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 2.9% Higher - Should You Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) shares rose 2.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $95.08 and last traded at $95.05. Approximately 2,144,160 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 9,016,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $113.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.24 and a 200 day moving average of $96.11.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. This represents a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total value of $620,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,840,249.20. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,690 shares of company stock worth $9,360,205. Insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 102.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,086,504 shares of the technology company's stock worth $239,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,453 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $36,000. Cim LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 62.0% during the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 191,915 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,870,000 after buying an additional 73,470 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $2,766,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 20.1% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 154,905 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,002,000 after buying an additional 25,875 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.