Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired 21,468 shares of Arista Networks, Inc., valued at approximately $1.66 million, in the first quarter of the year.
• Recent analysts' ratings have been positive, with Citigroup and The Goldman Sachs Group raising their price targets significantly, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• CEO Jayshree Ullal sold over 1.7 million shares at an average price of $136.22, representing a 23.86% decrease in her position, as part of notable insider trading activity.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,468 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,663,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 1.5% in the first quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in Arista Networks by 31.3% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 9.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,171,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,647,153. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.49 and a 200-day moving average of $95.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.23, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.43 and a 12-month high of $141.99.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The company 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%. Arista Networks's revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ANET. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $151.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.07.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 192,979 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.67, for a total value of $26,953,376.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,623,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $785,465,112.07. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total value of $99,083.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $855,512.80. The trade was a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,767,742 shares of company stock worth $714,048,068 over the last 90 days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arista Networks 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.