Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Major Shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim Sells 267,892 Shares of Company Stock

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 267,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $45,860,431.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 180,275,156 shares in the company, valued at $30,861,303,955.64. This represents a 0.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Andreas Bechtolsheim also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 17th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $59,685,000.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total transaction of $60,780,000.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 111,848 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.75, for a total transaction of $21,558,702.00.
• On Wednesday, August 5th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total transaction of $60,990,000.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Arista Networks stock opened at $169.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $213.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.10. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.52 and a twelve month high of $217.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.37% and a return on equity of 30.65%. The company’s revenue was up 58.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ANET. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $175.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.95.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. State Street Corp raised its position in Arista Networks by 159.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,606,975,000 after purchasing an additional 74,541,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,712,788,000 after buying an additional 2,497,275 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Arista Networks by 199.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,635,978,000 after buying an additional 6,409,612 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Arista Networks by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,357,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,589,651,000 after buying an additional 388,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Arista Networks by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 9,064,443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,112,932,000 after buying an additional 491,173 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Arista Networks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arista Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings were $1.20 per share versus the $1.08 consensus, while revenue of $3.66 billion exceeded the $3.33 billion estimate and rose 58.5% year over year. The company said revenue growth was its strongest since its IPO, and operating margin widened. Article: Arista Networks Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s fourth-quarter outlook was characterized as strong, supporting expectations for continued demand for Arista’s networking products amid AI and data-center expansion. Article: Arista Networks Stock Pops on Q3 Earnings Beat, Strong Q4 Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Gross margin slipped as product sales made up a larger share of revenue, and coverage flagged a slower pace of growth in the fourth-quarter outlook. These trends could raise questions about the durability of margin gains and rapid growth. Article: Arista Revenue Up 58% as Q4 Outlook Slows

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc develops and sells cloud networking solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises and specialized computing environments. The company’s products are designed to support high-performance, scalable and automated networks used for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics and other demanding applications.

Arista’s portfolio includes data center and campus switches, routing platforms, wireless networking products, network operating software and network management tools.