Amundi Reduces Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Arista Networks stake by 19.4% in the second quarter, selling 1.76 million shares and retaining 7.31 million shares valued at approximately $1.24 billion. Institutional investors still own 82.47% of the company.
• Arista reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.02 beating the $0.89 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.04 billion surpassing forecasts while rising 37.7% year over year. Third-quarter EPS guidance is $1.06–$1.08.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $225.76 versus the stock’s reported $193.54 price. However, elevated valuation and recent insider selling under pre-arranged trading plans could increase sensitivity to slower growth.

Amundi cut its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,309,036 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,755,407 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.58% of Arista Networks worth $1,241,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 17,042.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 272,793,984 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,342,242,000 after buying an additional 271,202,666 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $1,558,563,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,101,860,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $537,736,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Arista Networks by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,878,360 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,032,302,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934,098 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE ANET opened at $193.54 on Monday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.52 and a 1 year high of $214.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.29. The company has a market cap of $244.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.62.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.37% and a return on equity of 30.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $210.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $225.76.

Arista Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista’s investment case remains supported by surging AI infrastructure demand, improving supply-chain execution and strong free cash flow. The company’s shares have gained 37.3% over the past six months, although the recent advance has raised questions about how much upside remains. ANET Rises 37.3% in Six Months: Is There More Room to Grow?
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide a fundamental catalyst: adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share exceeded the $0.89 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.04 billion topped the $2.83 billion forecast and increased 37.7% year over year. Arista guided to third-quarter EPS of $1.06-$1.08. Arista Networks Offers Entry After 42% Gain Amid Earnings Beat; Data Center Demand Surging
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $220 price target. This adds to a generally favorable analyst view, with a consensus Buy rating and an average target of $225.76; UBS, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley have also cited targets above the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista edged higher even as networking peer Ciena weakened after issuing in-line guidance, suggesting investors may be differentiating ANET based on its stronger AI and cloud-networking growth outlook. Ciena Corporation Tumbles 10% as In-Line Guidance Overshadows Earnings Beat, Arista Edges Higher
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 612 shares worth approximately $119,811. The transaction reduced her holdings by 0.87%, but it was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance as a bearish signal. Arista’s elevated valuation—about 60 times earnings and a PEG ratio of 2.21—also leaves the stock sensitive to slower growth or weaker guidance.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total value of $119,811.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,688,434.17. This represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 13,809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.79, for a total transaction of $2,648,428.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,981.43. The trade was a 58.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,782,694 shares of company stock worth $726,728,187 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks 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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