Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $192.35 and traded as high as $199.46. Arista Networks shares last traded at $196.8110, with a volume of 8,395,810 shares changing hands.

Arista Networks News Summary

Here’s some of the latest news about ANET:

• Positive Sentiment: An AI-cloud rebound lifted networking shares, and Arista’s fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $3.9 billion to $4.0 billion offered investors a concrete growth catalyst. Arista Networks Stocks Climb as AI Cloud Rebound Lifts Networking Leader
• Neutral Sentiment: Co-founder Andreas Bechtolsheim has sold about $668 million of shares since May, but reports say the transactions were made under a pre-arranged trading plan. He retains a very large stake, which may temper concerns that the sales signal a change in outlook. Arista’s Co-Founder Has Sold About $668 Million of Stock Since May
• Negative Sentiment: A wider AI-stock sell-off remains a near-term risk, and Arista underperformed some competitors despite rising in Wednesday’s session. Sector volatility could limit gains even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Arista Networks stock underperforms competitors despite gains

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Arista Networks from $289.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Arista Networks from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.24.

Arista Networks Stock Up 6.4%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.61.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.97% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 58.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 130,553 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.10, for a total transaction of $28,343,056.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,774,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,585,416.10. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 1,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $263,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,769,855. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 2,067,489 shares of company stock valued at $406,340,373 in the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 159.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,606,975,000 after buying an additional 74,541,134 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the second quarter valued at $1,101,860,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 199.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,635,978,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409,612 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $537,736,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,712,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc. develops software-driven networking products for large data centers, cloud environments, AI workloads, and enterprise campuses. Its offerings include Ethernet switches and routers, along with software and services for managing, monitoring, and securing networks. The company’s software portfolio includes its Extensible Operating System (EOS), which runs across its networking platforms, and CloudVision, a platform for network automation and management. Arista’s products are used by cloud providers, businesses, and other organizations to connect and manage computing infrastructure.