Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Arista a "Buy": 25 firms cover the stock (19 Buy, 3 Strong Buy, 3 Hold) with an average 12‑month target of about $178.67 and several firms raising targets (Goldman $188, Piper $175, UBS $200).
• Q1 results beat expectations: Arista reported $0.82 EPS vs. $0.75 expected and $2.49B revenue (vs. $2.38B), with revenue up 28.9% year‑over‑year and strong margins, supporting momentum from AI and hyperscale networking demand.
• Notable insider selling: CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares (~$75.9M) and insiders have sold ~1.5M shares (~$246M) in the last 90 days, which may merit investor attention despite institutional ownership of ~82.5%.

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.6667.

ANET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $188.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Arista Networks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Arista Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley expects Arista’s Q1 to benefit from new customer wins and margin resilience, reinforcing the view that demand tied to AI and hyperscale networking will support near-term revenue and profitability. Arista Networks' Q1 Results to Benefit From New Customers, Margin Resilience, Morgan Stanley Says
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage previews highlight Arista’s AI networking momentum and the XPO platform launch as catalysts that have driven upward estimate revisions and stronger investor interest ahead of earnings. Should You Add ANET Stock to Your Portfolio Ahead of Q1 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analyst consensus remains positive (average rating ~Buy), which supports sentiment but also suggests expectations are highly baked into the stock’s premium multiple. Wall Street Analysts See Arista Networks (ANET) as a Buy: Should You Invest?
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista is a trending stock on investor platforms — increased attention can amplify intraday moves but doesn’t guarantee direction without confirming earnings/guide. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) is a Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Several write-ups warn that Arista’s premium valuation and elevated expectations may limit upside if the company only meets (not exceeds) Q1 results or issues cautious guidance. That raises the risk of a pullback even with strong underlying demand trends. Should You Add ANET Stock to Your Portfolio Ahead of Q1 Earnings?

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANET opened at $172.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $217.53 billion, a PE ratio of 62.59, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $141.84 and a 200 day moving average of $137.69. Arista Networks has a one year low of $82.80 and a one year high of $179.80.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.99% and a return on equity of 30.37%. The firm's revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $75,944,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,209,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,321,690.08. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.31, for a total transaction of $5,225,920.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,119,110.56. This trade represents a 71.15% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 1,502,729 shares of company stock worth $246,427,959 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Arista's offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures.

Central to Arista's product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the company's hardware platforms.

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