Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 4.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Arista Networks rose by 4.2% during trading on Thursday, reaching a high of $153.95 before closing at $152.74.
• Analysts have significantly increased their price targets for Arista Networks, with Citigroup raising it from $136.00 to $176.00, and BNP Paribas Exane upgrading the stock to an "outperform" rating with a target of $172.00.
• Insider transactions have seen CEO Jayshree Ullal sell over 1.2 million shares, leading to an 18.82% reduction in her holdings, while insiders collectively sold approximately $895 million worth of shares in the last three months.

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) rose 4.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $153.95 and last traded at $152.74. Approximately 7,307,037 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 10,131,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $136.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $151.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.94.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $142.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,247,688 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,383,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $799,567,735.71. The trade was a 18.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.75, for a total transaction of $4,282,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,852,324. This represents a 69.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,678,904 shares of company stock worth $895,788,521 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 199 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2,118.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 979.2% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 108.0% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 337 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 215.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arista Networks

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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