Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,257 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,766 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $22,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. William Mack & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the third quarter worth $31,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $59,685,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 180,543,048 shares in the company, valued at $35,919,039,399.60. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.42, for a total value of $4,820,920.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 452,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,884,008. The trade was a 5.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,380,998 shares of company stock valued at $482,687,801. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ANET. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $240.24.

Key Stories Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista reported third-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion, up 58.5% year over year and above estimates, while EPS of $1.20 also beat expectations. The company raised its outlook, citing demand for AI data-center networking, Ethernet adoption, and growth across hyperscale and enterprise customers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support offers another tailwind: Melius Research initiated coverage with a “strong-buy” rating, while other recent reports cited buy ratings and bullish price targets. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The recent selloff has left investors debating whether the pullback creates a buying opportunity. ANET has declined substantially over the past month despite its strong results, leaving sentiment divided. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and customer concentration remain risks: Arista’s premium forward earnings multiple leaves less room for disappointment, while reliance on a limited number of large customers could make growth more vulnerable to spending changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have also faced pressure from a broader AI-infrastructure stock selloff and reported insider sales. Those sales included transactions under pre-arranged trading plans, but can still add to near-term investor caution. Read More.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET opened at $170.70 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.52 and a 1-year high of $217.41. The stock has a market cap of $215.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.70.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 39.97%. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 58.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc develops software-driven networking products for large data centers, cloud environments, AI workloads, and enterprise campuses. Its offerings include Ethernet switches and routers, along with software and services for managing, monitoring, and securing networks.

The company’s software portfolio includes its Extensible Operating System (EOS), which runs across its networking platforms, and CloudVision, a platform for network automation and management. Arista’s products are used by cloud providers, businesses, and other organizations to connect and manage computing infrastructure.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Arista serves customers worldwide.