Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 1.9% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Arista Networks' stock increased by 1.9% during trading on Wednesday, with a last traded price of $120.90.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.65, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a significant 27.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Arista Networks has launched a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the company's stock is currently undervalued.

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) traded up 1.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $123.10 and last traded at $120.90. 3,041,009 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 10,479,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.40.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $152.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.84.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business'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 owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total value of $76,663,118.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,072,900. This trade represents a 96.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,239,440 shares of company stock valued at $126,362,429 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 108.0% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 337 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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