Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Sets New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $137.93 and last traded at $136.65, with a volume of 7625508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.12.

The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Wedbush began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.79.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total transaction of $99,083.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,512.80. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,944,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $741,802,299.95. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,443,742 shares of company stock worth $395,523,885. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

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

Arista Networks Trading Up 17.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $174.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.28.

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.