Arista Networks Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ANET)

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 26,542 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 55% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,088 call options.

Arista Networks Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ANET stock opened at $107.85 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.87 billion, a PE ratio of 51.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.08. Arista Networks has a 12 month low of $60.08 and a 12 month high of $133.57.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 2,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.83, for a total value of $241,693.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John F. Mccool sold 2,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.83, for a total value of $226,200.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,887.76. This represents a 89.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 343,992 shares of company stock worth $37,634,420 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 63,244 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 69.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 9,028 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,465,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,318,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Arista Networks by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 13,224 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,076,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Arista Networks by 10.0% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 72,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ANET shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $66.25 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.83.

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.