Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 2.7% – Should You Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price shot up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $112.32 and last traded at $112.06. 1,740,925 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,784,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ANET. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.25 target price (up from $86.25) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Arista Networks from $100.00 to $106.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.70.

Arista Networks Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $142.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.24, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.48.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $7,893,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,280,374.36. 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, SVP Marc Taxay sold 2,496 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.09, for a total value of $242,342.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 353,476 shares of company stock valued at $36,841,998. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Arista Networks by 28.2% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.