Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 8.3%

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price dropped 8.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $289.41 and last traded at $290.34. Approximately 2,479,303 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 2,510,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $316.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ANET shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.22.

Arista Networks Stock Down 4.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $286.42 and its 200 day moving average is $260.16. The firm has a market cap of $94.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total transaction of $97,867.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,518.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.28, for a total transaction of $3,335,162.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total value of $97,867.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,518.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 394,836 shares of company stock worth $115,437,764 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% in the 1st 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 stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.