Wright Investors Service Inc. Takes Position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,125 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ANET. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 335.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $95.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,392,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,036,815. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.54. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 29.91%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,305.20. This represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total transaction of $620,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 139,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,840,249.20. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,690 shares of company stock worth $9,360,205. 3.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ANET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.47.

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.