Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 7.5% on Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) traded down 7.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $76.09 and last traded at $77.10. 5,139,480 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 8,694,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.36.

Specifically, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.85, for a total transaction of $6,788,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,013.60. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total value of $712,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 147,784 shares in the company, valued at $13,157,209.52. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Arista Networks news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Arista Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $112.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.03. The firm has a market cap of $99.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 2,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 35.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Arista Networks by 52.5% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 152 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.