Jennison Associates LLC Reduces Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in Arista Networks by 14.4% in Q4, selling 45,671 shares and ending the period with 271,097 shares worth about $35.52 million.
• CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares at an average $177.44 (≈$75.9 million) under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, and insiders have sold roughly 1.50 million shares (~$246.4 million) in the past 90 days.
• Arista beat Q1 estimates with $0.82 EPS vs. $0.75 and revenue of $2.49 billion (up 28.9% YoY), while analysts remain broadly positive (consensus "Buy" and average target ≈$178.67) despite a premium valuation.

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 271,097 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 45,671 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $35,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 141.3% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 222 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $75,944,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,209,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,321,690.08. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total value of $4,558,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,301.44. This trade represents a 71.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,502,729 shares of company stock valued at $246,427,959. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANET opened at $172.76 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.80 and a 52-week high of $179.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.76.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.07. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.37% and a net margin of 38.99%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $184.00 target price (up from $183.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $178.67.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley expects Arista’s Q1 to benefit from new customer wins and margin resilience, reinforcing the view that demand tied to AI and hyperscale networking will support near-term revenue and profitability. Arista Networks' Q1 Results to Benefit From New Customers, Margin Resilience, Morgan Stanley Says
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage previews highlight Arista’s AI networking momentum and the XPO platform launch as catalysts that have driven upward estimate revisions and stronger investor interest ahead of earnings. Should You Add ANET Stock to Your Portfolio Ahead of Q1 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analyst consensus remains positive (average rating ~Buy), which supports sentiment but also suggests expectations are highly baked into the stock’s premium multiple. Wall Street Analysts See Arista Networks (ANET) as a Buy: Should You Invest?
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista is a trending stock on investor platforms — increased attention can amplify intraday moves but doesn’t guarantee direction without confirming earnings/guide. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) is a Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Several write-ups warn that Arista’s premium valuation and elevated expectations may limit upside if the company only meets (not exceeds) Q1 results or issues cautious guidance. That raises the risk of a pullback even with strong underlying demand trends. Should You Add ANET Stock to Your Portfolio Ahead of Q1 Earnings?

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.

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