Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 3% on Analyst Downgrade

by · The Markets Daily

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET – Get Free Report) traded down 3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $171.00 to $159.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Arista Networks traded as low as $121.63 and last traded at $122.3280. 8,304,282 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 9,810,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.13.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ANET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Melius Research increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $183.00 price target (up previously from $179.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold 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 $163.56.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Arista Networks

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.61, for a total transaction of $3,343,860.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 542,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,758,064. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total value of $1,024,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,302,672.56. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 218,464 shares of company stock worth $30,309,988 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,228,177,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 2,829.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,721,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $833,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,828 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,809 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $584,119,000 after buying an additional 4,678,372 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 193.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,065,054 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $721,342,000 after buying an additional 4,656,021 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,587,115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,396,939,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a market cap of $154.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.11 and its 200-day moving average is $127.48.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.73% and a return on equity of 30.28%. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

About Arista Networks

(Get Free Report)

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.

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