Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 2.7% on Earnings Beat

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price rose 2.7% on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $112.12 and last traded at $109.72. Approximately 5,910,278 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 8,939,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.87.

The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 40.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 71,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.06, for a total transaction of $7,107,506.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,289.82. The trade was a 50.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.65, for a total transaction of $825,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,946 shares in the company, valued at $17,721,666.90. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 337,320 shares of company stock worth $37,946,706. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANET. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Arista Networks by 89.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 795 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Arista Networks by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 214,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 130,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,949,000 after purchasing an additional 9,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 9.9% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Up 3.9 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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.