Arista Networks stock falls after outlook disappoints

Shares of Arista Networks Inc. are down 10.6% in Friday morning trading after some analysts expressed concerns about the company's forecast. Deutsche Bank analyst Vijay Bhagavath lowered his price target to $180 from $195 following the company's latest earnings report, arguing that the company's "track record of solid beats and raises...is starting to sputter." Bhagavath said that the company has delivered in-line forecasts along with its last two earnings reports and is experiencing a "sequential downtick in gross margins." He believes the company's growth rate will slow from about 50% last year to the "low-to mid-20%" range this fiscal year and the "mid-to low-teens" range in fiscal 2019 and 2020." Other analysts defended the company after the report, including Oppenheimer's Ittai Kidron, who called the numbers "solid" and said he was encouraged by "positive management commentary pointing toward the return of cloud customers." Arista's stock is up 71% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 10%.