Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $121.50, but opened at $126.18. Arista Networks shares last traded at $129.09, with a volume of 1,325,350 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.83.

Arista Networks Stock Down 0.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.45 billion, a PE ratio of 62.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business 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 revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total value of $9,477,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,266.72. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John F. Mccool sold 288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $31,305.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 343,992 shares of company stock worth $37,634,420 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the second quarter valued at $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2,133.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 186.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 143 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 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.