Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Arista Networks by 33.4% during the first quarter, now owning 24,547 shares valued at approximately $1.91 million.
• Insider trading reports indicate that senior vice president Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares for over $3.3 million, reducing his stake by 69.81%.
• Arista Networks' recent earnings report showed a 27.6% year-over-year revenue increase, with a net margin of 40.72% and earnings per share exceeding consensus estimates.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,547 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,298 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% in 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 during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $794,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,784 shares in the company, valued at $6,536,298.24. This trade represents a 10.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,177,878 shares of company stock worth $119,281,861. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ANET stock opened at $114.37 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.43 and a 12-month high of $133.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $98.86 and its 200 day moving average is $94.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ANET. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.40.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.