AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in **Arista Networks, Inc.** by **153.8%** during Q1, now holding **7,719,809 shares** valued at approximately **$584.12 million**.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for Arista Networks, with **UBS Group** raising it to **$155.00**, while **BNP Paribas Exane** downgraded their rating to **neutral** with a target of **$106.00**.
• Insider transactions indicated reductions in stock positions, with **SVP Kenneth Duda** and **CEO Jayshree Ullal** selling significant amounts of shares, representing decreases of **69.81%** and **70.80%**, respectively.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 153.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,719,809 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,678,372 shares during the quarter. Arista Networks comprises approximately 0.6% of AQR Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Arista Networks worth $584,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total transaction of $243,175,176.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,698,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,191,640.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 5,839,614 shares of company stock worth $724,163,153 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE ANET traded up $1.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.83. The company had a trading volume of 9,564,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,140,393. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $145.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a PE ratio of 56.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 target price on Arista Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.79.

Arista Networks 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.