Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $103.50 and last traded at $102.45. Approximately 5,296,699 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 9,105,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.33.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.24. The firm has a market cap of $128.66 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. 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 business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,072,900. This represents a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.18, for a total value of $705,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 123,784 shares in the company, valued at $10,915,273.12. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,123,400 shares of company stock valued at $113,159,520 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 433.7% in the fourth 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 634.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 314.9% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.