Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 3.1% - Here's What Happened

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $118.34 and last traded at $117.43. 3,692,311 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 9,042,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ANET shares. StockNews.com lowered Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Arista Networks Trading Down 3.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $140.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.64, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50 day moving average price is $111.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.95.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 71,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.06, for a total value of $7,107,506.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,076,289.82. This represents a 50.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.09, for a total value of $8,407,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,647.84. The trade was a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 327,832 shares of company stock valued at $36,049,537. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,216,000. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Arista Networks by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 4,665 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 283.5% in the 4th quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 39,831 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,403,000 after purchasing an additional 29,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 383.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 320.1% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

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.