Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 7.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price was up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $285.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Arista Networks traded as high as $295.12 and last traded at $294.04. Approximately 3,552,341 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 2,476,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.99.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ANET. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $254.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $272.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total transaction of $265,739.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total transaction of $265,739.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total value of $388,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,312.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 337,054 shares of company stock valued at $96,529,086 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ANET. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,642 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 6.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter worth about $13,406,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Trading Up 6.7 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $279.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.25. The firm has a market cap of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.76, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.13.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 35.62% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.