Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) were up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $80.19 and last traded at $79.37. Approximately 3,512,585 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 8,714,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Arista Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $101.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.88.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,697,137.08. The trade was a 59.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.85, for a total transaction of $6,788,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,013.60. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 491,001 shares of company stock worth $49,112,111 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 335.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.