Andreas Bechtolsheim Sells 300,000 Shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 Arista Networks shares at an average price of $198.95, generating approximately $59.7 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his position by 0.17%, though he still directly owns about 180.5 million shares.
• Arista shares recently traded at $205.37, near their 52-week high, with a market capitalization of approximately $259 billion. The company reported quarterly revenue of $3.04 billion and EPS of $1.02, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $227.80; several firms recently raised their targets to between $220 and $255.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $59,685,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 180,543,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,919,039,399.60. The trade was a 0.17% 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. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Andreas Bechtolsheim also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 27th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total value of $60,780,000.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 111,848 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.75, for a total value of $21,558,702.00.
• On Wednesday, August 5th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00.
• On Thursday, July 2nd, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.67, for a total transaction of $39,040,800.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.22, for a total value of $42,697,200.00.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded up $5.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $205.37. 4,947,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,802,623. The company's 50 day moving average price is $188.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.18. The firm has a market cap of $259.02 billion, a PE ratio of 64.79, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.62. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.52 and a 52 week high of $214.89.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 2,331.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 156,458 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,579,000 after purchasing an additional 150,023 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1,383.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,787 shares of the technology company's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ANET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $255.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.80.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc designs, develops and sells cloud networking solutions for large data centers, cloud service providers, internet companies, enterprises and other organizations. Its portfolio includes high-performance Ethernet switches, routers and wireless networking products used to connect servers, storage systems, users and applications across data center and campus environments.

The company's software offerings include Arista EOS, its Linux-based network operating system, and CloudVision, a cloud-based platform for network management, automation, monitoring and analytics.

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