Weiss Asset Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management LP dramatically increased its Arista Networks stake by 2,066% in the first quarter, ending with 206,200 shares valued at about $25.3 million.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Arista, with recent upgrades and higher price targets reflecting optimism around AI-driven demand and data-center networking growth. The consensus rating is a Buy with an average target price of $189.74.
• Arista’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting EPS of $0.87 on revenue of $2.71 billion, while revenue rose 35.1% year over year. Despite strong fundamentals, the stock was down 1.6% in the latest session amid some profit-taking and insider selling.

Weiss Asset Management LP raised its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 2,066.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,200 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 196,680 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $25,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intrua Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 2.7% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 247 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the technology company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 16,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 870 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA and Needham commentary was broadly bullish ahead of Arista’s upcoming Q2 results, with analysts expecting the stock to keep rising on continued AI and data-center demand. Arista Networks sees largely bullish views at BofA ahead of Q2 results
• Positive Sentiment: Arista was highlighted as a beneficiary of expanding AI adoption, reinforcing the investment case that demand for networking gear tied to AI buildouts could support future growth. 4 Software Stocks Poised to Benefit From Expanding AI Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Arista was also featured among high-ROE stocks that may appeal to investors seeking quality names during market volatility, underscoring its strong profitability profile. 5 High ROE Stocks to Buy as Surging Oil Prices Rattle Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage debated whether ANET is fairly valued for AI growth or still trading at a premium, suggesting investors are weighing strong fundamentals against a rich valuation. Is Arista Networks (ANET) Priced For AI Growth Or Too Expensive?
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista’s strong first-half performance and long-term stock gains continue to support a positive narrative, but this is more of a reminder of past strength than a direct near-term catalyst. Why Arista Networks Stock Rocketed 30% Higher in the First Half of 2026 and Why There's Likely More to Come
• Negative Sentiment: The stock also slipped in the latest trading session, reflecting some profit-taking and softer short-term momentum despite the upbeat analyst backdrop. Arista Networks (ANET) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ANET shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Arista Networks to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial set a $175.00 price objective on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Arista Networks from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.74.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.08, for a total value of $4,482,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,678.08. This trade represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.57, for a total value of $43,048,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,543,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,223,652,457.36. The trade was a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 2,264,983 shares of company stock worth $376,175,065. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Stock Down 1.6%

Arista Networks stock opened at $173.79 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.55 and a 52-week high of $189.82. The firm has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 59.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $164.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.70.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.32% and a return on equity of 30.10%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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