Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $164.3125.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Arista Networks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on Arista Networks from $136.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

NYSE ANET opened at $127.87 on Thursday. Arista Networks has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $164.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.62, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.73% and a return on equity of 30.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.61, for a total value of $3,858,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,668,843.36. This trade represents a 69.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 24,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,994,431.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,235,162.35. The trade was a 70.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,017,464 shares of company stock valued at $294,799,432. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $251,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Arista Networks by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 16,433 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 213 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.