Element Capital Management LLC Makes New $2.59 Million Investment in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks, purchasing 33,389 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million during the first quarter.
• Arista Networks reported that its latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with $2.20 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $0.73.
• The board of Arista Networks approved a $1.50 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in the company's stock value.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 33,389 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,587,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,288,583 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,016,207,000 after purchasing an additional 20,059,303 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $933,626,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 330.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 11,292,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,248,169,000 after purchasing an additional 8,671,235 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 354.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,942,816 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,098,979,000 after purchasing an additional 7,753,991 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 278.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,641,326 shares of the technology company's stock worth $955,126,000 after purchasing an additional 6,357,753 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total value of $936,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 57,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,761,305.84. This represents a 12.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 192,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.67, for a total transaction of $26,953,376.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,623,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $785,465,112.07. The trade was a 3.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,767,742 shares of company stock valued at $714,048,068. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.5%

ANET traded up $0.69 on Monday, reaching $137.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,095,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,561,113. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.98 and a 200-day moving average of $95.99. The company has a market capitalization of $173.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.27, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $141.99.

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

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. KGI Securities cut shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $151.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.07.

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.