Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Down 2.1% on Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares traded down 2.1% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $91.75 and last traded at $94.38. 3,385,007 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 10,452,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.38.

Specifically, insider John F. Mccool sold 17,433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total transaction of $1,623,709.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,623,709.62. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,697,137.08. The trade was a 59.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.79.

Arista Networks Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.02. The company has a market cap of $116.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,237,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in Arista Networks by 305.4% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 26,087 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 19,652 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 203.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 3,522 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 344.6% in the fourth quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 83,844 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,267,000 after buying an additional 64,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 291.2% in the fourth quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,756,449 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051,770 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.