Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Sets New 52-Week High at $376.95

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $376.95 and last traded at $374.88, with a volume of 338631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ANET. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Arista Networks from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $349.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.63.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $119.08 billion, a PE ratio of 52.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $340.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.34.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.38. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 39.01%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.00, for a total transaction of $8,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,595,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,700,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Arista Networks news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.71, for a total value of $221,339.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 25,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.00, for a total value of $8,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,595,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,700,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,361 shares of company stock worth $38,024,123. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $881,848,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $521,767,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,494,876 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,946,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,040 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Arista Networks by 97.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,794,586 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $628,966,000 after purchasing an additional 884,703 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 4,160.9% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 515,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,743,000 after purchasing an additional 503,597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

About Arista Networks

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.