Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price rose 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $115.78 and last traded at $114.19. Approximately 1,811,528 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 8,972,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ANET. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $66.25 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.83.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $144.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.28 and its 200-day moving average is $99.36.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total value of $9,477,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,266.72. The trade was a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John F. Mccool sold 288 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $31,305.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 247,832 shares of company stock valued at $27,642,337. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 132 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 2,133.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Arista Networks by 186.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 143 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.