Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Sold by BLB&B Advisors LLC

Key Points

• BLB&B Advisors reduced its Arista Networks stake by 5.4%, selling 7,107 shares and retaining 123,983 shares worth approximately $21.1 million. Arista represents about 0.8% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Despite the sale, institutional ownership remains high at 82.47%, with several major investors—including Norges Bank, Franklin Resources and Massachusetts Financial Services—boosting their positions.
• Arista reported strong quarterly results, with 37.7% year-over-year revenue growth and EPS of $1.02 versus the $0.89 consensus estimate. Shares opened at $198.91, while analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus and an average price target of $226.05.

BLB&B Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,983 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,107 shares during the period. Arista Networks accounts for about 0.8% of BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $21,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $1,558,563,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 3,182.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,012,373 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $525,741,000 after buying an additional 3,890,146 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,934,098 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,712,788,000 after buying an additional 2,497,275 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Arista Networks by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,240,951 shares of the technology company's stock worth $520,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960,829 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET opened at $198.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $250.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.75, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $174.08 and a 200-day moving average of $154.79. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.52 and a 1-year high of $214.89.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $154,341,575.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,387,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,297,589,536.82. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale 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, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 181,143,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,826,381,658.40. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,335,168 shares of company stock worth $798,637,629. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Arista Networks to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $226.05.

Arista Networks Company 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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