Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Down 2.1% After Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price traded down 2.1% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $83.60 and last traded at $85.95. 2,617,032 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 10,777,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.82.

Specifically, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total value of $712,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 147,784 shares in the company, valued at $13,157,209.52. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Arista Networks news, insider John F. Mccool sold 17,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.57, for a total value of $1,683,504.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.14. The stock has a market cap of $108.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 335.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 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.