Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $141.75 and last traded at $137.65, with a volume of 7832657 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $139.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $106.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wedbush began coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price target on Arista Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.07.

Arista Networks Trading Down 2.4%

The stock has a market cap of $173.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.73.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 192,979 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.67, for a total value of $26,953,376.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,623,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $785,465,112.07. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total transaction of $99,083.52. Following the sale, the director owned 7,460 shares in the company, valued at $855,512.80. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,767,742 shares of company stock valued at $714,048,068. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 433.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 240.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 285.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,065 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 7,456 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.