Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $311.00 to $320.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 3,054,449 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 2,469,421 shares.The stock last traded at $294.60 and had previously closed at $273.99.

ANET has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $313.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on Arista Networks from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.00.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 87,418 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.81, for a total value of $24,373,012.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,639.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 87,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.81, for a total value of $24,373,012.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,639.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.52, for a total transaction of $573,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,462,247.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 337,410 shares of company stock valued at $96,626,954 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter worth $42,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $92.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $279.59 and its 200-day moving average is $251.54.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 35.62% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.