Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) CEO Jayshree Ullal Sells 880,180 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 880,180 shares of Arista Networks at an average price of $124.79, totaling over $109 million, indicating a 12.90% decrease in her stake.
• Arista Networks reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.65, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $2 billion, a year-over-year increase of 27.6%.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion share repurchase program, suggesting management believes the stock is undervalued.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 880,180 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.79, for a total value of $109,837,662.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,944,405 shares in the company, valued at $741,802,299.95. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Jayshree Ullal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 288,820 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total transaction of $35,290,915.80.
• On Tuesday, July 29th, Jayshree Ullal sold 588,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $70,060,200.00.
• On Monday, July 28th, Jayshree Ullal sold 527,302 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.59, for a total transaction of $60,950,838.18.
• On Friday, July 25th, Jayshree Ullal sold 60,698 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.02, for a total transaction of $6,981,483.96.
• On Monday, June 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92.
• On Monday, June 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 93,468 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $9,573,927.24.
• On Friday, June 27th, Jayshree Ullal sold 1,793 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.99, for a total transaction of $182,868.07.
• On Friday, June 27th, Jayshree Ullal sold 223 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.99, for a total transaction of $22,743.77.
• On Thursday, June 26th, Jayshree Ullal sold 104,707 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total transaction of $10,683,255.21.
• On Thursday, June 26th, Jayshree Ullal sold 13,075 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total transaction of $1,334,042.25.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET traded down $1.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $137.00. 7,451,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,677,800. The stock has a market cap of $172.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $141.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $103.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.28.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 433.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 555.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,851 shares of the technology company's stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 5,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 258.7% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,465 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.