Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 1.1% After Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $85.37 and last traded at $86.34. 2,136,412 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,089,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.27.

Specifically, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.58, for a total value of $708,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 131,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,673,426.72. This represents a 5.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.07.

Arista Networks Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.31. The stock has a market cap of $108.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth $2,233,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Arista Networks by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,068,056 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $625,113,000 after buying an additional 1,670,902 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 12,363 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,723,613 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,946,000 after buying an additional 266,350 shares during the period. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $9,534,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.