Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the technology company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $112.00. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.94% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Up 2.7 %

ANET traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.83. 10,263,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,978,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09. Arista Networks has a one year low of $60.08 and a one year high of $133.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.14.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total transaction of $712,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 147,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,157,209.52. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total transaction of $9,477,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,266.72. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 491,289 shares of company stock valued at $51,018,617. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $242,000. GHE LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 319.0% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 21,597 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 327.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $630,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Arista Networks by 395.8% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 18,593 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 14,843 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is 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.