Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Stock Holdings Lifted by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 33.4% during the first quarter, now owning 9,364 shares valued at approximately $726,000.
• Multiple analysts set new price targets for Arista Networks, with estimates ranging from $100.00 by Morgan Stanley to $130.00 by JPMorgan Chase & Co., reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Arista Networks approved a $1.50 billion share repurchase program, indicating the board's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 33.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,364 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,347 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Quarry LP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 212 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 179.7% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Price Performance

ANET traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.37. 4,866,258 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,009,131. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.80. The company has a market cap of $143.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.41, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.40. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $133.57.

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

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,748.32. This represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,072,900. This trade represents a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,177,878 shares of company stock worth $119,281,861 in the last ninety days. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ANET. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.40.

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.