Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 202.3%, owning approximately 1.5 million shares valued at $117 million as of the last quarter.
• Arista Networks reported a 27.6% increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $2 billion, and earnings per share of $0.65, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $1.5 billion stock repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 1.3% of its shares, indicating confidence in its valuation.

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 202.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,513,348 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,012,783 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.12% of Arista Networks worth $117,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. This represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total value 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. The trade was a 96.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,635,562 shares of company stock valued at $291,955,743 in the last ninety days. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET stock opened at $117.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.43 and a 1-year high of $133.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.48 and a 200 day moving average of $95.12.

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

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ANET. Wolfe Research began coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. KGI Securities lowered Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. 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, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.00.

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.

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.