Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $306.00 to $349.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 3,054,449 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 2,469,421 shares.The stock last traded at $294.60 and had previously closed at $273.99.

ANET has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $313.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $272.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total value of $388,155.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,312.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total value of $511,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,568,495.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total transaction of $388,155.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,312.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 337,054 shares of company stock worth $96,529,086 in the last ninety days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,642 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 4.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 6.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at about $13,406,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Up 6.5 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.25. The company has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.