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

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Arista Networks from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed but still broadly positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts remain upbeat: TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and Citi all maintained bullish views or higher price targets, and the consensus rating is still Moderate Buy with a target price of $181.84.
• Arista reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with revenue up 35.1% year over year, even as the stock fell 3.9% and insiders continued to sell shares in recent months.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Arista Networks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Arista Networks from $176.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.84.

Arista Networks Stock Down 3.9%

Arista Networks stock opened at $141.98 on Thursday. Arista Networks has a 12-month low of $83.86 and a 12-month high of $179.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $144.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.64. The stock has a market cap of $178.78 billion, a PE ratio of 48.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.67.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.10% and a net margin of 38.32%.The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arista Networks will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, CFO Chantelle Yvette Breithaupt sold 8,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $1,378,127.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,414,984.68. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 1,395 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.07, for a total value of $213,532.65. Following the sale, the director owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,497,636.88. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,502,729 shares of company stock valued at $246,707,719. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intrua Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the technology company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 37.2% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 247 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 4.1% in the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the technology company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.4% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,509 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 16,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters-based 13-F filings show institutional investors added to or started positions in major AI infrastructure names, including Arista Networks, signaling continued professional buying interest in the company’s long-term AI networking story. Institutional investors boosted holdings of AI infrastructure plays during first quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded Arista to Outperform, citing share gains in AI-backend and campus networking, plus demand from major customers such as Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Arista upgraded to outperform as it gains share in AI-backend and campus: Raymond James
• Positive Sentiment: Truist said Arista’s post-earnings pullback may be an attractive buying opportunity, keeping the name on bullish watch lists as investors weigh strong underlying demand against near-term volatility. Truist Views Arista Networks (ANET)’s Post-Q1 Sell-Off As An Attractive Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compare Arista with other AI-related stocks and question whether the rally has already priced in much of the upside, which may be adding to investor caution after a strong multi-year run. Is It Too Late To Consider Arista Networks (ANET) After Strong Multi Year Share Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage notes Arista’s AI demand remains strong, but supply-chain constraints and margin pressure could limit near-term upside even as revenue guidance stays solid. AI-Fueled Demand Amid Supply Strains Might Change The Case For Investing In Arista Networks (ANET)
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst-style comparison argued Jabil looks stronger than Arista on valuation and AI data-center exposure, reflecting some relative-value skepticism toward ANET. Arista vs. Jabil: Which AI-Driven Tech Stock Looks Stronger Now?

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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