Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $111.06, but opened at $104.50. Arista Networks shares last traded at $103.30, with a volume of 4,416,701 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $159,409.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $870,752.64. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ANET. UBS Group raised their target price on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.79.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.54. The firm has a market cap of $130.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arista Networks by 304.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,084,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,620,270,000 after buying an additional 72,311,318 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 330.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,648,129 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,371,848,000 after buying an additional 44,269,572 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,288,583 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,016,207,000 after buying an additional 20,059,303 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 311.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,165,355 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,665,829,000 after purchasing an additional 18,293,874 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Arista Networks by 218.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 21,070,016 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,328,869,000 after purchasing an additional 14,454,822 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.