Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 0.8% Higher

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $321.13 and last traded at $319.66. 364,026 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,499,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $316.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $297.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.22.

Arista Networks Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.76 and a 200 day moving average of $260.44. The stock has a market cap of $96.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.13.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy 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 Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.28, for a total value of $3,335,162.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 14,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.03, for a total value of $4,700,048.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 252,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,284,103.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.28, for a total value of $3,335,162.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 396,350 shares of company stock worth $115,916,018 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.