Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 1.5% – What’s Next?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $83.23 and last traded at $83.85. Approximately 2,552,537 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 8,655,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ANET shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.01, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total value of $4,593,214.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares in the company, valued at $8,697,137.08. The trade was a 59.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 491,001 shares of company stock valued at $49,112,111. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitlin John LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 174.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 335.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 195 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.