Insider Selling: Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Major Shareholder Sells $45,860,431.48 in Stock

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 267,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $45,860,431.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 180,275,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,861,303,955.64. This represents a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 17th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $59,685,000.00.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction of $21,558,702.00.
• On Wednesday, August 5th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00.

Arista Networks Stock Down 10.8%

NYSE ANET opened at $159.21 on Friday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.52 and a twelve month high of $217.41. The company has a market cap of $200.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.20 and its 200 day moving average is $165.48.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 39.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $250.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $230.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $240.24.

Key Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista’s Q3 revenue rose 58.5% year over year to $3.66 billion, beating the $3.33 billion consensus, while adjusted EPS of $1.20 topped the $1.08 estimate. Management also projected about $18.5 billion in 2027 revenue—above Wall Street expectations—and expects AI-fabric revenue to double to roughly $7 billion. Article: Should You Add ANET Stock to Your Portfolio Post Solid Q3 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders reported share sales, including director Mark Templeton’s 5,000-share sale and major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim’s sale of 267,892 shares. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; Bechtolsheim retained a very large stake. Article: Insider Selling at Arista Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are selling AI hardware and networking stocks broadly, with reports attributing the pressure to policy concerns after the election. The sector-wide risk-off mood has overshadowed Arista’s growth outlook. Article: Arista Sinks as AI Selloff Deepens
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive guidance, analysts note execution and supply capacity risks, while Arista’s premium valuation and expected pressure on gross margins from a greater hardware mix leave the stock vulnerable to shifts in investor sentiment. Article: Arista Networks Stocks Fall Despite a Strong Networking Outlook

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 159.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,606,975,000 after purchasing an additional 74,541,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 34.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,712,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,275 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 199.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,635,978,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409,612 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 4.3% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,357,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,589,651,000 after purchasing an additional 388,354 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 5.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 9,064,443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,112,932,000 after purchasing an additional 491,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.