Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $241,000 in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,114 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.40.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,072,900. The trade was a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,177,878 shares of company stock valued at $119,281,861. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ANET opened at $114.06 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $133.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.28, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.50 and a 200-day moving average of $94.95.

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

Arista Networks announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.