Arista Networks Drops Amid Competitive Threat

Major U.S. equities indexes tumbled as bank stocks moved lower following their earnings reports and big tech names lost momentum after helping the market find a footing in the previous session.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% on the day, while the Nasdaq and the Dow were down 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively.

Friday’s declines wrapped up a volatile week that provided mixed signals on inflation and saw wavering sentiment around the tech sector’s artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities. All three major indexes ended the week in negative territory.

Arista Networks (ANET) shares fell 8.6%, suffering the steepest losses on the S&P 500, after Rosenblatt downgraded the stock to “sell.” According to the analysts, chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA) could threaten Arista’s position in the market for networking switches used in data centers to enable AI applications.

Shares of Zoetis (ZTS), which produces medicines and vaccinations for pets and other animals, dropped 7.8% amid reports that dogs and cats experienced adverse side effects from the company’s arthritis shots. Known as Librela and Solensia, the first antibody drugs available for pets are designed to fight osteoarthritis by targeting a specific protein, but some veterinarians have expressed concerns about their safety profile.

Shares of agricultural chemical supplier FMC Corp. (FMC) declined 7.8%, reversing solid gains posted earlier this week after KeyCorp analysts boosted their price target on the stock. FMC has been working to cut costs and expand its product portfolio, but it faces a difficult demand environment.

JPMorgan (JPM) shares slipped 6.5% after the company released its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Although the banking giant’s quarterly revenue and earnings came in ahead of forecasts, net interest income fell short of expectations, and CEO Jamie Dimon pointed to economic uncertainties facing the bank’s consumer and business customers.

After plummeting 53% on Thursday as short seller Fuzzy Panda disclosed a position in the stock and cited fraudulent practices, shares of insurer Globe Life (GL) staged a partial recovery on Friday, with gains of 20.2% making it the S&P 500’s top performer. According to Fuzzy Panda, the fraud included writing policies for nonexistent individuals, forging signatures, and withdrawing funds from customer’s accounts without their approval. Globe Life denied the allegations.

Shares of State Street (STT) bucked the downtrend in the financial sector, gaining 2.5% after the banking and financial services firm reported better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter of 2024. Higher fees helped drive the strong results, with increases in servicing, management, and software and processing fees.

Apple (AAPL) shares edged 0.9% higher on Friday, extending gains posted the previous day amid reports that the tech giant would update its Mac computers with a focus on AI.