Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 1.1% Higher - Should You Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) rose 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $103.50 and last traded at $102.22. Approximately 2,162,736 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 9,077,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. 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, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.33.

Arista Networks Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $128.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.93 and a 200-day moving average of $95.33.

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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.23, for a total value of $2,397,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 592,400 shares in the company, valued at $54,637,052. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total value of $76,663,118.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,072,900. The trade was a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,123,400 shares of company stock worth $113,159,520 over the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.