Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its Arista Networks stake by 13.6% in the second quarter, selling 21,153 shares and retaining 134,857 shares valued at approximately $22.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.47% of the company.
• Arista reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 37.7% year over year to $3.04 billion and EPS of $1.02, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $226.05.
• Insiders sold substantial shares, including CEO Jayshree Ullal’s sale of 573,509 shares worth about $119.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The stock trades at a relatively high valuation, with a P/E ratio of 62.75, raising concerns that significant future growth may already be priced in.

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 13.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,857 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 21,153 shares during the period. Arista Networks makes up about 0.7% of Ascent Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $22,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ANET. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,189,629 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,258,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,799 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,970,697 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,154,570,000 after buying an additional 628,146 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,171,766 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,870,618,000 after acquiring an additional 380,724 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,447,629 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,455,095,000 after purchasing an additional 477,625 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth $1,558,563,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.02, for a total value of $1,448,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 184,333 shares in the company, valued at $33,367,959.66. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 573,509 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $119,364,428.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,203,250. This represents a 95.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 4,393,168 shares of company stock valued at $806,762,269 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ANET. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $259.00 target price (up from $187.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $175.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $226.05.

More Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista remains a key beneficiary of expanding artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. A comparison with Celestica highlights both companies’ growing roles in AI networking, computing and data-center buildouts. Arista’s latest quarter also showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 37.7% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. CLS vs. ANET: Which AI Stock Offers the Better Growth Opportunity?
• Positive Sentiment: CNBC commentator Jim Cramer continues to favor Arista and has described the company and CEO Jayshree Ullal as difficult competitors to bet against. The endorsement reinforces Arista’s reputation as a leading AI-networking investment, although it is sentiment-driven rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Jim Cramer Said Arista Networks, Inc. and Snowflake Inc. Were Worth It
• Neutral Sentiment: An options strategy discussed for ANET would generate income while capping upside at a price above the current level. The strategy reflects elevated investor interest and volatility but does not change Arista’s business outlook. Get Paid 18% a Year To Cap Your ANET Stock At 21% Higher
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 573,509 shares worth approximately $119.4 million, reducing her direct ownership by 95.82% to 25,000 shares. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces its significance as a discretionary bearish signal, but the size of the sale can still weigh on sentiment. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: A valuation analysis argues that Arista’s shares are priced for peak profitability. With the stock trading at a historically elevated multiple and margins near the upper end of their range, investors may be concerned that future upside requires continued exceptional growth and profitability. Arista Networks Stock Is Priced For Its Peak Margin

Arista Networks Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:ANET opened at $198.91 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.72. The stock has a market cap of $250.87 billion, a PE ratio of 62.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.60. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.52 and a fifty-two week high of $214.89.

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

About Arista Networks

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ANET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source