Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Price Target Raised to $155.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has raised its price target for Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) from $115.00 to $155.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.39% from the stock's prior close.
• Arista Networks reported its latest quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.73, exceeding estimates of $0.65, alongside a 30.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Insider selling activity has been notable, with the CEO and SVP selling significant shares, which may indicate differing views on the stock's valuation among executives.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $115.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

ANET has been the subject of several other reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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, Citigroup raised their price target on Arista Networks from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.07.

Arista Networks Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ANET traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.62. 1,901,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,636,214. The firm has a market cap of $175.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.28. Arista Networks has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $141.01.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.93% and a net margin of 40.90%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 880,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,944,405 shares in the company, valued at $741,802,299.95. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total value of $936,080.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 57,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,761,305.84. The trade was a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,443,742 shares of company stock valued at $395,523,885 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 277.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $933,626,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 330.8% in the 4th 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 278.4% in the fourth 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 valued at $955,126,000 after purchasing an additional 6,357,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

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.