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

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 23 analysts (18 buys, 5 holds) with an average one‑year price target of $176.47 and several firms raising targets (e.g., UBS $200, Wells Fargo $185).
• Management is guiding to roughly $11B in revenue for 2026 (vs ~ $9B in 2025) and has launched the XPO high‑density liquid‑cooled pluggable optics aimed at hyperscale AI data centers, bolstering the AI‑driven growth thesis and potential hardware ASP expansion.
• Arista reported a quarterly EPS beat ($0.82 vs $0.75) with revenue up 28.9% YoY and ~39% net margin, though insiders sold about 196,237 shares (~$25.9M) over the last three months.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.4706.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $178.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista launched the XPO multi-source agreement and a 12.8 Tbps liquid‑cooled pluggable optics module that boosts rack density ~4x — this product is explicitly targeted at hyperscale AI data centers and could expand Arista’s addressable market and hardware ASPs. Arista Announces XPO High Density Liquid Cooled Pluggable Optics
• Positive Sentiment: CEO guidance and management commentary point to faster top‑line growth — management expects ~ $11B revenue in 2026 (vs ~$9B in 2025), reinforcing the AI-driven demand narrative. Arista (ANET) to Hit $11B in 2026 Revenues, $2B More Than 2025, Says CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Broker activity has turned constructive — TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Buy and $170 PT, and some outlets upgraded the stock citing accelerating AI networking demand and durable hyperscaler commitments. Those actions support upside vs. current levels. TD Cowen initiates Arista, Coherent and Ciena at buy
• Positive Sentiment: Independent upgrades highlight the stock’s breakout potential as valuation has contracted and FY2026 revenue is guided above ~25%, reinforcing the bullish case for longer-term multiple expansion if execution continues. Arista Networks: All Ready To Storm To New Highs (Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically, ANET is trading near its 50‑day moving average inside a base and is listed as an IBD Sector Leader — constructive technicals but not yet a confirmed breakout. Arista Holds Near Key Level As Outlook Brightens
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have pulled back and shown intraday weakness in recent sessions — short‑term volatility and profit‑taking are pressuring the stock despite positive headlines. Arista Networks (ANET) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note supply constraints and some gross‑margin pressure that could limit near‑term revenue upside despite strong bookings — a risk to quarterly cadence even as the multi‑year AI opportunity remains intact. Arista Networks: Why A Breakout Seems Likely (Rating Upgrade)

Arista Networks Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ANET stock opened at $133.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $167.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.46. Arista Networks has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $164.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.30.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.49 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total value of $4,558,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,301.44. This represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 1,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.44, for a total value of $240,378.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,665,300.56. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 196,237 shares of company stock valued at $25,865,760 over the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,189,629 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,258,877,000 after buying an additional 1,188,799 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,970,697 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,154,570,000 after buying an additional 628,146 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,171,766 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,870,618,000 after buying an additional 380,724 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,447,629 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,455,095,000 after acquiring an additional 477,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Arista Networks by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 26,374,373 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,698,362,000 after acquiring an additional 263,272 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

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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