Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Arista Networks by 23.5%, selling 19,315 shares and now holding 62,797 shares valued at approximately $4.87 million.
• Insider Trading: CEO Jayshree Ullal sold over 1.78 million shares, resulting in a 23.86% decrease in her total ownership, which now stands at about $776 million.
• Analysts have increased price targets for Arista Networks, with JPMorgan raising theirs to $150.00 and multiple firms maintaining a strong buy or outperform rating.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 23.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,797 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 19,315 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $4,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ANET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 433.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 262.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,712 shares of the technology company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 351.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 35,076 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,877,000 after acquiring an additional 27,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total value of $243,175,176.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,698,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $776,191,640.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,767,742 shares of company stock worth $714,048,068. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price target on Arista Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $151.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.07.

Arista Networks Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Arista Networks stock opened at $141.17 on Wednesday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $141.74. The firm has a market cap of $177.43 billion, a PE ratio of 55.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day moving average is $107.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.44.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.

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