Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 2.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Arista Networks shares fell 2.9% to approximately $163.95, with trading volume slightly below its average. The stock’s market capitalization is about $206.8 billion, and its 200-day moving average is $164.70.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a $232.95 price target. Recent firms raised targets as high as $289, implying substantial upside from the current price.
• Arista reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates while posting 37.7% year-over-year revenue growth. However, insiders sold about 3.62 million shares worth $739.8 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by the CEO and a major shareholder.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.9% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $163.25 and last traded at $163.9490. 7,069,476 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 7,788,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ANET shares. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $289.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $232.95.

Arista Networks Trading Down 2.9%

The company's 50-day moving average is $195.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total value of $60,780,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 180,843,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,638,801,524.80. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,387,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,297,589,536.82. This represents a 4.47% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,619,449 shares of company stock worth $739,787,226. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.7% in the third quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,842 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the third quarter worth $346,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 467.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 210 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Investment Management grew its position in Arista Networks by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 26,889 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.