Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Short Interest Up 38.5% in February

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 15,210,000 shares, a growth of 38.5% from the February 13th total of 10,980,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 9,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.51, for a total transaction of $892,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 163,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,263,553.84. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $12,988,391.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,697,137.08. This trade represents a 59.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 491,001 shares of company stock worth $49,112,111. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Arista Networks by 2,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Arista Networks by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 52.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ANET. Citigroup upped their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Arista Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,577,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,686,261. Arista Networks has a 52 week low of $60.08 and a 52 week high of $133.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.75 and its 200-day moving average is $101.82. The firm has a market cap of $105.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. Equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.