Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $330.00 to $385.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Arista Networks traded as high as $348.92 and last traded at $348.40, with a volume of 263370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.70.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $311.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.26, for a total transaction of $592,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,463,341.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.26, for a total transaction of $592,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,946 shares in the company, valued at $17,463,341.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total value of $265,739.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 212,950 shares of company stock worth $64,987,920 over the last three months. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 3.5% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 215 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $109.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.46, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $299.51 and its 200-day moving average is $277.65.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 37.64% and a return on equity of 31.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.