Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 2.7% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) rose 2.7% on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $112.12 and last traded at $109.72. Approximately 5,910,278 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 8,939,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.87.

The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 40.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John F. Mccool sold 6,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.58, for a total value of $625,013.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,391.76. This represents a 95.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.65, for a total value of $825,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,721,666.90. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 337,320 shares of company stock worth $37,946,706. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Arista Networks by 395.8% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 18,593 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 14,843 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 387.6% during the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,120 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 292.7% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 602,541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,599,000 after purchasing an additional 449,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 5T Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Stock Up 3.9 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.32. The firm has a market cap of $139.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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.