Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price traded down 2.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $94.47 and last traded at $94.21. 1,328,755 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 9,038,450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ANET shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $89.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.47.

Arista Networks Stock Down 3.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Arista Networks announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total transaction of $620,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,840,249.20. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,305.20. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,690 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,205. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 335.6% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 9,278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 7,148 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 308.1% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth $3,528,000. 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.