Swedbank AB Cuts Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,715,735 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 83,583 shares during the quarter. Arista Networks comprises about 0.8% of Swedbank AB’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.55% of Arista Networks worth $601,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ANET. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 36,329 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,133 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,405,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,238,000. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $662,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Arista Networks stock traded down $2.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $353.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,260,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,441,793. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.25 and a 52 week high of $376.50. The company has a market cap of $110.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $338.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.33.

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

Arista Networks announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total value of $70,543.82. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at $941,427.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.70, for a total value of $7,414,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,550.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total value of $70,543.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,427.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 125,650 shares of company stock worth $42,919,845 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ANET. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.38.

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.