Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Major Shareholder Sells $39,040,800.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 Arista Networks shares on July 2 for about $39.0 million at an average price of $162.67. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and his stake still remains very large.
• Bechtolsheim has been steadily trimming his holdings, with several additional sales in late May and June totaling tens of millions of dollars each. These repeated insider transactions may pressure investor sentiment, even though they were disclosed and planned in advance.
• Arista’s business results remain strong, with the company recently beating earnings and revenue expectations and posting 35.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts remain generally bullish, and the stock has been supported by optimism around AI infrastructure demand.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.67, for a total transaction of $39,040,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,043,048 shares in the company, valued at $29,612,942,618.16. This represents a 0.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Andreas Bechtolsheim also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 1st, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.22, for a total value of $42,697,200.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.57, for a total transaction of $43,048,200.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 220,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.93, for a total value of $34,744,600.00.
• On Thursday, June 4th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total value of $39,134,400.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 220,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.86, for a total value of $34,509,200.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 205,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.74, for a total transaction of $31,106,700.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET traded down $7.25 on Tuesday, reaching $166.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,965,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,408,755. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $158.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.86, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.60. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.94 and a 12-month high of $179.80.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.10% and a net margin of 38.32%.The firm's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. Analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at $29,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista is still being viewed as a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout, with reports highlighting strong demand for its high-speed networking gear as cloud and data center operators expand AI capacity. Arista Networks NYSE: ANET Extends AI Network Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says ANET is nearing a technical buy point, which can attract momentum and growth investors looking for an entry in a strong AI-related name. Dow Jones Payments Leader Visa Breaks Out; Arista Networks Eyes Buy Point
• Positive Sentiment: The company confirmed it will report Q2 2026 results on August 4, keeping attention on upcoming earnings that could validate growth expectations. Arista Networks to Announce Q2 2026 Financial Results on Tuesday, August 4, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and institutional investors remain generally constructive, with strong buy/buy ratings and continued ownership by funds supporting sentiment, though this is not a fresh catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Charles Giancarlo and major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim may weigh on sentiment, even though the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Arista Networks NYSE: ANET Director Charles Giancarlo Sells 8,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to reports that ANET dipped more than the broader market in the latest session, suggesting some profit-taking after a strong run. Why Arista Networks (ANET) Dipped More Than Broader Market Today

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up from $177.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Arista Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Arista Networks from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $187.63.

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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