Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Despite this downgrade, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a significant number of analysts (19) rating it as a buy, and a price target averaging $162.00.
• Recent insider trading shows notable sales, with CEO Jayshree Ullal selling over 1.2 million shares valued at approximately $185 million, which reflects a 18.82% decrease in their ownership.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ANET. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $151.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of Arista Networks stock opened at $145.12 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $138.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.40 billion, a PE ratio of 57.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.47. Arista Networks has a 1-year low of $59.43 and a 1-year high of $156.32.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company's revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,247,688 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.53, for a total transaction of $185,319,098.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,383,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $799,567,735.71. This represents a 18.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.49, for a total transaction of $1,179,920.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,162,722.16. The trade was a 16.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,678,904 shares of company stock valued at $894,021,161. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ANET. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 9,406 shares of the technology company's stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.

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