Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $118.22 and last traded at $117.63, with a volume of 658974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ANET. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $100.00 to $106.25 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.70.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $149.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.95.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.09, for a total value of $8,407,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,647.84. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 3,328 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.35, for a total value of $330,628.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,026,252.59. The trade was a 4.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 257,316 shares of company stock valued at $27,392,296. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 34,954 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,251,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,001 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,557,000 after acquiring an additional 7,854 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 49.3% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,347 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,439,000 after acquiring an additional 12,660 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 48.3% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 12,406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 7.7% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.