Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 0.8%

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $321.13 and last traded at $319.66. Approximately 364,026 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,499,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $316.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $297.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.22.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $99.74 billion, a PE ratio of 44.52, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $285.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.76.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total value of $97,867.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $706,518.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 87,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.81, for a total transaction of $24,373,012.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,929,639.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.91, for a total value of $97,867.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $706,518.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 400,210 shares of company stock worth $116,875,362 in the last three months. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 8.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,859 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.2% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,318 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 121.1% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 13,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 7,237 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,137 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is 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.