Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 5.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) dropped 5.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $81.12 and last traded at $82.20. Approximately 3,576,039 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 8,545,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Arista Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $112.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.85, for a total transaction of $6,788,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,013.60. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,697,137.08. The trade was a 59.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 491,001 shares of company stock valued at $49,112,111. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Caitlin John LLC lifted 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.