Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Stock Holdings Cut by Brookstone Capital Management

Key Points

• Brookstone Capital Management cut its Arista Networks stake by 17.3% in the third quarter, selling 27,664 shares and retaining 131,962 shares valued at approximately $26.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.47% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $233.20; recent targets ranged from $220 to $255.
• Arista reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.02 in EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, up 37.7% year over year. However, insiders sold $741.2 million of stock over the past three months, while the shares’ premium valuation and recent weakness remain concerns.

Brookstone Capital Management decreased its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,962 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 27,664 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $26,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Arista Networks by 159.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,606,975,000 after acquiring an additional 74,541,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 34.6% in the second 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 199.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,635,978,000 after buying an additional 6,409,612 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 4.3% in 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 buying an additional 388,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Arista Networks by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,440,963 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,433,951,000 after buying an additional 470,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ANET shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $250.00 price objective on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $255.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $233.20.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 181,143,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,826,381,658.40. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $154,341,575.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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. 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 3,627,449 shares of company stock worth $741,235,386 over the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANET opened at $170.57 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $196.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.29. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.52 and a 52-week high of $217.41. The company has a market capitalization of $215.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Key Stories Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista remains positioned to benefit from sustained AI and cloud-computing investment because hyperscalers and enterprises need high-speed data-center networking equipment. Its industry-leading margins and role in AI infrastructure were cited as reasons it may outperform over the long term. 4 Cloud Computing Stocks to Bet on for Solid Long-Term Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains favorable, with Arista receiving a positive average recommendation. Comparisons with CrowdStrike, Datadog, Cisco Systems and Axon also emphasized Arista’s strong profitability and strategic importance to modern AI data centers. Arista Networks Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market weakness appears partly related to institutional selling and a rotation away from expensive technology shares. One market commentary characterized the decline as potentially creating a buying opportunity, but this reflects market sentiment rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Agentic AI Stocks to Own This Year and Beyond
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target for ANET, adding to investor concerns that the stock’s premium valuation may have outpaced near-term expectations. Arista Networks Stock Gets Price Target Cut from TD Cowen
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish analysis argued that Arista has limited pricing power and lacks a sufficiently durable business model, raising concerns about competition and the sustainability of its high margins. Arista Networks: No Pricing Power and No Durable Business Model

Arista Networks 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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