KeyCorp Initiates Coverage on Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET)

KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.43% from the stock’s previous close.

ANET has been the topic of a number of other reports. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Arista Networks to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.33.

Arista Networks Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ANET stock opened at $96.29 on Thursday. Arista Networks has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.76, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.81 and its 200 day moving average is $95.73.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.58, for a total value of $708,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 131,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,673,426.72. This represents a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. This represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 161,690 shares of company stock worth $14,525,085 in the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 5.1% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 9.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.