Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $375.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ANET. Erste Group Bank restated a buy rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $297.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $349.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Arista Networks from $311.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $353.38.

Arista Networks Price Performance

ANET stock opened at $319.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. Arista Networks has a 12 month low of $168.25 and a 12 month high of $376.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $332.16 and its 200 day moving average is $297.97.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.01% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total transaction of $70,543.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,427.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total transaction of $97,867.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,518.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total transaction of $70,543.82. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at $941,427.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 205,116 shares of company stock worth $67,657,035. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANET. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 36,329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,133 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,405,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 51,301 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,082,000 after buying an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $3,238,000. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.