Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 5.1% - What's Next?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) shares rose 5.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $102.07 and last traded at $101.22. Approximately 4,812,065 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 9,034,196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded 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. BNP Paribas cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.33.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $127.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.73.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, 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 of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at $512,305.20. This represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 161,690 shares of company stock valued at $14,525,085 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 381.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.