Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $66.25 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arista Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.88.

Arista Networks Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of ANET stock opened at $112.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $141.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.85 and a 200-day moving average of $90.84. Arista Networks has a 52 week low of $56.65 and a 52 week high of $112.77.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 40.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, insider John F. Mccool sold 288 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total transaction of $31,305.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 3,344 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $323,264.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,836,889.08. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 354,964 shares of company stock valued at $36,974,705. 3.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.