The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $188.84 Million Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,111,678 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 183,512 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $188,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:ANET opened at $189.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $185.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.83. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.52 and a 12-month high of $214.89. The firm has a market cap of $238.38 billion, a PE ratio of 59.62, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $154,341,575.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,387,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,297,589,536.82. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 181,143,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,826,381,658.40. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,787,694 shares of company stock worth $727,713,987. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $250.00 price target on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued 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, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.76.

Key Stories Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout because its high-speed networking equipment connects GPUs and helps hyperscale data centers handle rising workloads. This supports the long-term growth narrative around ANET. 3 Stocks Powering the AI Boom That Are Not Named Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with IBM portrays Arista as the more attractive cloud-AI investment, citing stronger share-price performance, improving 2026 earnings estimates and greater exposure to AI-cloud expansion. The article also indicates that analysts see continued upside despite ANET’s richer valuation. Arista vs. IBM: Which Cloud AI Stock Should Investors Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista’s presentation at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference keeps investor focus on management’s outlook and execution in AI networking. However, the available transcript listing does not identify a specific new catalyst or change to guidance. Arista Networks Presents at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Arista’s approximately $9.7 billion in AI-related commitments may not produce revenue immediately. Power availability, cooling constraints and customer acceptance could delay deployment and revenue recognition by as much as 18 months, creating a timing risk for expectations. Arista’s $9.7 Billion AI Commitments Hide an 18-Month Revenue Wait
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage notes that ANET has declined more than the broader market, suggesting profit-taking or heightened sensitivity to valuation and near-term execution. With the stock trading at a high earnings multiple, investors may be demanding faster conversion of AI demand into sales and earnings. Arista Networks Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market

Arista Networks Profile

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.