Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 8.3% Following Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares dropped 8.3% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $289.41 and last traded at $290.34. Approximately 2,479,303 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 2,510,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $316.50.

Specifically, insider John F. Mccool sold 584 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $164,454.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.28, for a total value of $3,335,162.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John F. Mccool sold 584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $164,454.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 414,109 shares of company stock worth $121,583,803. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Arista Networks from $306.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Arista Networks from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $311.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.22.

Arista Networks Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $96.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $287.34 and a 200 day moving average of $261.09.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.