Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 2.9% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) rose 2.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $95.08 and last traded at $95.05. Approximately 2,144,160 shares changed hands 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.38.

Arista Networks Trading Up 2.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $119.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.33.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.58, for a total value of $708,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 131,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,673,426.72. This trade represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $512,305.20. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,690 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,205. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANET. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 335.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 179.7% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors 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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