Headlands Technologies LLC Takes Position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC invested approximately $2.23 million in Arista Networks, acquiring 28,825 shares, as reported in its latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors own 82.47% of Arista Networks, with significant increases in holdings reported by firms such as Cresset Asset Management and Nuveen Asset Management during the fourth quarter.
• Arista Networks has received multiple positive ratings from analysts, with price targets raised by several firms, signaling strong growth expectations for the company.

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,825 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,233,000.

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

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.15. 9,762,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,029,182. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $141.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $104.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.41. The company has a market cap of $174.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.37.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ANET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $151.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $89.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas cut Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $3,335,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,442,801.44. This trade represents a 69.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 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 ninety days. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arista Networks Company 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.