Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 2.4% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) were up 2.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $77.37 and last traded at $77.08. Approximately 2,777,389 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 9,086,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ANET. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $55.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.29.

Arista Networks Stock Up 3.5 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $80.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total transaction of $159,409.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,128 shares in the company, valued at $870,752.64. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $896,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 155,784 shares in the company, valued at $17,450,923.68. The trade was a 4.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 412,355 shares of company stock worth $39,446,799. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 15,444 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 58.2% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 5,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in Arista Networks by 145.6% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 175,318 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,584,000 after acquiring an additional 103,923 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, G&S Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 95.9% during the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Arista Networks

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.