HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 647,735 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 10,393 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Arista Networks worth $110,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bensler LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,350,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth $3,058,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,621 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,591 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the first quarter valued at $5,279,000. Finally, Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 564.1% in the second quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 16,847 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 14,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET stock opened at $193.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.05, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.62. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $114.52 and a one year high of $214.89.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In related news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total transaction of $60,780,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 180,843,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,638,801,524.80. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.42, for a total transaction of $4,820,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 452,400 shares in the company, valued at $83,884,008. This represents 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,782,694 shares of company stock worth $726,728,187. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista’s investment case remains supported by surging AI infrastructure demand, improving supply-chain execution and strong free cash flow. The company’s shares have gained 37.3% over the past six months, although the recent advance has raised questions about how much upside remains. ANET Rises 37.3% in Six Months: Is There More Room to Grow?
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide a fundamental catalyst: adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share exceeded the $0.89 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.04 billion topped the $2.83 billion forecast and increased 37.7% year over year. Arista guided to third-quarter EPS of $1.06-$1.08. Arista Networks Offers Entry After 42% Gain Amid Earnings Beat; Data Center Demand Surging
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $220 price target. This adds to a generally favorable analyst view, with a consensus Buy rating and an average target of $225.76; UBS, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley have also cited targets above the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista edged higher even as networking peer Ciena weakened after issuing in-line guidance, suggesting investors may be differentiating ANET based on its stronger AI and cloud-networking growth outlook. Ciena Corporation Tumbles 10% as In-Line Guidance Overshadows Earnings Beat, Arista Edges Higher
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 612 shares worth approximately $119,811. The transaction reduced her holdings by 0.87%, but it was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance as a bearish signal. Arista’s elevated valuation—about 60 times earnings and a PEG ratio of 2.21—also leaves the stock sensitive to slower growth or weaker guidance.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Arista Networks from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.76.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Arista’s offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures.

Central to Arista’s product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the company’s hardware platforms.