BNP Paribas Raises Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

BNP Paribas grew its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,016 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in Arista Networks were worth $2,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Caitlin John LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 335.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Arista Networks by 381.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares in the company, valued at $8,697,137.08. This trade represents a 59.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 412,355 shares of company stock valued at $39,259,279 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ANET traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,128,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,192,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.03, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.02 and its 200-day moving average is $97.58. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.36.

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.