Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 1.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) were down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $271.87 and last traded at $274.86. Approximately 819,223 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 2,431,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.82.

Specifically, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total transaction of $265,739.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Arista Networks news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total transaction of $265,739.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.52, for a total value of $573,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,462,247.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 337,054 shares of company stock valued at $96,529,086. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ANET. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Arista Networks from $306.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $297.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Arista Networks from $313.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.50.

Arista Networks Trading Up 6.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $279.22 and its 200-day moving average is $251.25.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.38. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 35.62%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.