Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Sold by Park Place Capital Corp

Park Place Capital Corp cut its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.70, for a total value of $7,414,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,550.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.70, for a total value of $7,414,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,550.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total value of $97,867.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,518.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 205,116 shares of company stock worth $67,657,035 in the last ninety days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ANET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.38.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded down $19.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $319.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,699,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,492,396. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.48, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.25 and a fifty-two week high of $376.50.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.38. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 39.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.