Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Time to Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price was up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $132.52 and last traded at $131.29. Approximately 12,458,296 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 9,803,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $183.00 price target (up from $179.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $171.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $136.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $143.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.56.

Arista Networks Trading Up 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $165.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.94.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.73% and a return on equity of 30.28%. The business’s revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.75, for a total value of $4,282,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,324. This trade represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 24,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,994,431.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,235,162.35. This represents a 70.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 216,464 shares of company stock valued at $28,598,588. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 25,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Arista’s offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures.

Central to Arista’s product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the company’s hardware platforms.