Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 2.3% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Arista Networks' shares rose by 2.3% to close at $146.40, with trading volume significantly lower than average, at about 5.9 million shares.
• Equities research analysts have a consensus price target of $163.94 for Arista Networks, with multiple upgrades leading to target prices as high as $185.00.
• The company reported $0.73 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a 30.4% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) traded up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $149.88 and last traded at $146.40. 5,935,743 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 10,197,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.94.

Arista Networks Trading Up 2.3%

The firm has a market cap of $184.01 billion, a PE ratio of 57.58, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $142.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.43.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business's revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.79, for a total transaction of $4,253,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,839,867.04. This represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,247,688 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.53, for a total transaction of $185,319,098.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,383,207 shares in the company, valued at $799,567,735.71. The trade was a 18.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,622,904 shares of company stock worth $887,794,521. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 613,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $47,519,000 after purchasing an additional 101,162 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $15,227,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Arista Networks by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 650,011 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,363,000 after acquiring an additional 316,309 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in Arista Networks by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 25,625 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $212,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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