Forsta AP Fonden Buys 7,100 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 297,900, valued at approximately $23.08 million.
• Various institutional investors have also boosted their stakes in Arista Networks, with 82.47% of the stock currently owned by such investors, indicating strong institutional support.
• Arista Networks reported a quarterly EPS of $0.73, surpassing expectations, and recorded a 30.4% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $2.20 billion.

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,900 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $23,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 381.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total transaction of $243,175,176.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,698,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,191,640.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $3,335,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,442,801.44. This represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,228,907 shares of company stock worth $638,699,061 in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price objective on Arista Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.07.

Arista Networks Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Arista Networks stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $139.15. 9,762,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,029,182. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $141.01.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. Arista Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.