Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 8.8% on Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price was down 8.8% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $72.55 and last traded at $73.07. Approximately 4,867,463 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 8,858,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.16.

Specifically, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total transaction of $620,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,840,249.20. This trade represents a 5.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average of $101.21. The stock has a market cap of $81.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 335.1% during 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 last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.