Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 316,309 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Arista Networks by 94.8%, acquiring a total of 650,011 shares valued at approximately $50.4 million by the end of the quarter.
• Arista Networks reported a 27.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings surpassing analyst estimates at $0.65 per share, exceeding the consensus of $0.59.
• The company announced a stock buyback program authorizing the purchase of $1.50 billion worth of outstanding shares, indicating that the board believes the shares are currently undervalued.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 94.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 650,011 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 316,309 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.05% of Arista Networks worth $50,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 31.3% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 45.8% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 455 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 0.8% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 21,449 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Up 2.8%

ANET stock traded up $3.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $117.53. 9,414,782 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,732,731. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $133.57. The company has a market cap of $147.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $99.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.67.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANET has been the topic of several recent research reports. KGI Securities downgraded Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,072,900. This trade represents a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,177,878 shares of company stock worth $119,281,861 over the last 90 days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.