Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 42,879 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. by 43.4%, lowering its share count to 55,839 and valuing its investment at approximately $4.3 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Arista Networks, with Cresset Asset Management boosting its position by 277.5% and Northern Trust Corp by 354.3% during the last quarter.
• Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target currently set at $114.00, reflecting recent adjustments and performance expectations.

Scotia Capital Inc. cut its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,839 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 42,879 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $4,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $3,016,207,000 after buying an additional 20,059,303 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,248,169,000 after acquiring an additional 8,671,235 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 271.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,190,118 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,236,844,000 after acquiring an additional 8,175,884 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 354.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 278.4% in 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 worth $955,126,000 after purchasing an additional 6,357,753 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp began coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET stock opened at $120.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $102.06 and its 200 day moving average is $94.82. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $133.57.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 880,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.79, for a total transaction of $109,837,662.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,944,405 shares in the company, valued at $741,802,299.95. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total value of $99,083.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,460 shares in the company, valued at $855,512.80. This trade 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 sold 3,435,742 shares of company stock worth $394,587,805. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

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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