Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) is Varenne Capital Partners' 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Varenne Capital Partners increased its stake in Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) by 267.1% in the 1st quarter, now holding 479,827 shares worth approximately $37.2 million, making it the second largest position in their portfolio.
• Arista Networks reported a strong financial performance with $0.73 earnings per share and revenues of $2.20 billion, exceeding analyst expectations and achieving a 30.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Arista Networks, with Piper Sandler raising the target price to $143 and Needham & Company LLC boosting it to $155, reflecting growing confidence in the stock.

Varenne Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 267.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 479,827 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 349,132 shares during the period. Arista Networks comprises approximately 13.4% of Varenne Capital Partners' holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Varenne Capital Partners' holdings in Arista Networks were worth $37,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 5.1% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company's stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ANET traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $137.23. 6,054,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,893,038. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.12. The company 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, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $141.99.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,698,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,191,640.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,767,742 shares of company stock worth $714,048,068. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

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.