Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management acquired a new position in Arista Networks by purchasing 7,079 shares valued at approximately $548,000 in the first quarter.
• Arista Networks reported earnings of $0.65 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $2 billion, which is a 27.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,079 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the business'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 transaction of $76,663,118.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,635,562 shares of company stock valued at $291,955,743. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Trading Down 4.6%

ANET stock traded down $5.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.56. 11,553,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,253,870. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.98. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.43 and a 1 year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. 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 research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks 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.