Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 2.9% - Still a Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $97.43 and last traded at $96.91. 2,467,845 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 9,054,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ANET. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $117.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $85.36 and its 200-day moving average is $96.45.

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. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% 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 prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Arista Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction 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 $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at $512,305.20. This represents a 16.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,690 shares of company stock worth $9,360,205. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 335.1% during 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 period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 409.7% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 316 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.