607,360 Shares in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Bought by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 607,360 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $67,132,000. Arista Networks comprises approximately 2.3% of Castleark Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 304.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,084,951 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,620,270,000 after purchasing an additional 72,311,318 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 330.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,648,129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,371,848,000 after buying an additional 44,269,572 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in Arista Networks by 277.5% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,288,583 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,016,207,000 after acquiring an additional 20,059,303 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Arista Networks by 311.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,165,355 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,665,829,000 after acquiring an additional 18,293,874 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Arista Networks by 218.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 21,070,016 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,328,869,000 after acquiring an additional 14,454,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,305.20. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 410,755 shares of company stock worth $37,045,233. Insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.14.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET opened at $95.60 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.18. The company has a market cap of $120.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ANET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.