Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 8.8% After Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) was down 8.8% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $72.55 and last traded at $73.07. Approximately 4,867,463 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 8,858,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.16.

Specifically, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total value of $620,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,840,249.20. This trade represents a 5.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ANET shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $81.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.21.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the third quarter valued at $123,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 138,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,101,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 162,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,276,000 after buying an additional 7,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.