Stock Update (NASDAQ:CSCO): Arista Down 6% as ITC Sides With Cisco: Bulls Unfazed; Will Workaround Work?

[at Barrons.com] – Shares of Arista Networks (ANET) are down $3.07, or 4%, at $70.75, recouping some of its earlier pre-market losses, which had the stock down 8% or so, following an adverse ruling yesterday by the International Trade Commission in the company legal battle with Cisco Systems (CSCO). There are no ratings changes today, that I can see, perhaps because the adverse ruling had been expected by some Arista bulls, such as Citigroup’s Stanley Kovler, who on Wednesday had urged investors to look past a likely import ban on Arista gear. In a fifteen-page followup note this morning, Kovler reiterates his Buy rating, and $75 price target, writing that the product cycles for Arista matter more than legal issues. Read more on this. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) , with a current market cap of $141.03B, began trading this morning at $28.16. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $28.01 to $28.57 with a one year range of $22.46 to $29.49. CSCO shares are currently priced at 12.54x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -5.21x earnings multiple for the same period. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $1.04 per share annually in dividends, yielding 3.61%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 33 sell-side analysts are looking at $0.60 per share, which would be $0.01 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential increase. The full-year EPS estimate is $2.33 which would be a $0.12 improvement than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $12.58 Billion. If realized, that would be a 2.02% decrease over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Goldman downgraded CSCO from Buy to Neutral (Jun 15, 2016). Previously, JP Morgan upgraded CSCO from Underweight to Neutral. Investors should keep in mind is that the average price target is $30.82, which is 9.45% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:CSCO) Similar Articles: Market Update: Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) – Cisco’s Marginal Victory Over Arista Networks Market Update: Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) – Cisco ruling could lead to ban on Arista tech imports Market Update: Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) – Cisco Calls Arista Antitrust Suit ‘Bogus’