Giverny Capital Inc. Increases Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• Giverny Capital Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. by 13.7%, bringing its holdings to 466,528 shares valued at approximately $36 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have made significant acquisitions in Arista Networks, with Cresset Asset Management boosting its position by 277.5% during the fourth quarter.
• Arista Networks reported $2.20 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and its stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Giverny Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,528 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,100 shares during the quarter. Arista Networks accounts for approximately 1.3% of Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $36,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 277.5% in 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $933,626,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 330.8% in 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 buying an additional 8,671,235 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 354.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,942,816 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,098,979,000 after buying an additional 7,753,991 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 278.4% during the 4th 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 valued at $955,126,000 after buying an additional 6,357,753 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, KGI Securities lowered shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.07.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 192,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.67, for a total value of $26,953,376.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,623,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $785,465,112.07. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total transaction of $99,083.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $855,512.80. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,767,742 shares of company stock worth $714,048,068. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ANET opened at $137.23 on Monday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.43 and a 12-month high of $141.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $109.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.37.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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