Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $112.46 and last traded at $110.79, with a volume of 1371812 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $107.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $100.00 to $106.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.88.

Arista Networks Stock Up 5.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.18. The company has a market capitalization of $141.56 billion, a PE ratio of 54.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 2,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.09, for a total value of $242,342.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John F. Mccool sold 288 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $31,305.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 354,964 shares of company stock worth $36,974,705. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 500.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 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.