Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Acquired by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings increased its Arista Networks stake by 29.3% in the third quarter, adding 86,966 shares to own 383,891 shares valued at approximately $78.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 82.47% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $233.20, although Zacks downgraded the stock to “Hold.” Arista shares opened at $184.42, below the consensus target but at a relatively high P/E ratio of 58.18.
• Arista reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 37.7% year over year and EPS of $1.02 versus estimates of $0.89, supported by demand for AI data-center networking. However, insiders sold more than $733 million of stock over the past 90 days, and the shares remain vulnerable to valuation-driven volatility.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 29.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 383,891 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,966 shares during the period. Arista Networks makes up 1.0% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $78,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 159.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,606,975,000 after buying an additional 74,541,134 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,712,788,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497,275 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 199.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,635,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,409,612 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,357,496 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,589,651,000 after acquiring an additional 388,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 9,064,443 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,112,932,000 after acquiring an additional 491,173 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 1,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $263,160.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,769,855. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $59,685,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 180,543,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,919,039,399.60. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,584,116 shares of company stock worth $733,396,013. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. Zacks Research downgraded Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $255.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target 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 have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $233.20.

Key Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista’s leadership in high-speed switching positions it to benefit from continued AI infrastructure spending by cloud providers and technology companies. Comparisons with Datadog and Axon also highlighted the company’s critical role in supporting AI applications. Arista Networks vs. Datadog Arista Networks vs. Axon Enterprise
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s open Ethernet rack-scale portfolio, including the Etherlink SU-144 architecture, is designed for dense, liquid-cooled AI systems with as many as 144 accelerators per rack. The offering could help Arista capture demand from cloud and “neocloud” operators seeking standards-based alternatives to proprietary interconnects. Open AI Rack Launch
• Positive Sentiment: A recent investment analysis argued that the selloff may have overlooked Arista’s long-term growth potential, with the company benefiting from AI data-center expansion and strong execution. TD Cowen also maintained a Buy rating, implying meaningful upside to its revised target. Arista Networks Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista and Cisco reportedly delivered record AI-driven results, but both stocks sold off sharply, suggesting investors may be focused on expectations, valuation, or profit-taking rather than headline growth alone. Arista Networks vs. Cisco Systems
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target from $250 to $205 while retaining a Buy rating. The reduction reflects less near-term upside and reinforces concerns that Arista’s premium valuation requires continued rapid growth. TD Cowen Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: Arista trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than the broader market, and its shares recently fell significantly from a record high. That premium leaves the stock vulnerable to further volatility if AI spending or growth expectations moderate. Arista Networks Growth and Valuation

Arista Networks Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Arista Networks stock opened at $184.42 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $197.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.98. The company has a market cap of $232.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.60. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.52 and a 1 year high of $217.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.37% and a return on equity of 30.65%. Arista Networks's revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc develops and sells cloud networking solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises and specialized computing environments. The company's products are designed to support high-performance, scalable and automated networks used for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics and other demanding applications.

Arista's portfolio includes data center and campus switches, routing platforms, wireless networking products, network operating software and network management tools.

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