4,184 Shares in Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Bought by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,184 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the second quarter valued at $29,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 183 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Down 4.6%

ANET opened at $195.11 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.87. The company has a market cap of $246.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.60. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.52 and a 12-month high of $217.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company’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, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Key Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista introduced an open Ethernet rack-scale portfolio designed to connect accelerators across liquid-cooled racks for large AI workloads. The launch reinforces the company’s position in AI networking and could expand its addressable market. Arista Networks Stock Dropped, What Is Behind the Fresh Attention?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank modestly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $3.79 from $3.78 and its FY2027 forecast to $4.74 from $4.73, while maintaining a Buy rating. The revisions suggest continued confidence in Arista’s earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: A separate report said Arista’s revenue outlook was raised for the third time this year and non-cancellable purchase commitments climbed 2.7 times to $9.7 billion. If accurate, the commitments provide stronger visibility into future demand. Arista Networks Prospects and Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista’s previous quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue up 37.7% year over year and EPS of $1.02 versus the $0.89 consensus. However, the stock trades at a high earnings multiple, leaving less room for disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 130,553 shares for approximately $28.3 million and another 27,990 shares for about $6.1 million. Both transactions were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and Ullal still owns roughly 4.8 million shares, which reduces—but does not eliminate—the negative signal from the sales.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock recently declined more than the broader market after gaining about 58% year to date and reaching near its 52-week high. The move appears consistent with profit-taking and valuation concerns rather than a reported deterioration in Arista’s business outlook. Arista Networks Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $154,341,575.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 16,387,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,297,589,536.82. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total transaction of $60,990,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,627,449 shares of company stock valued at $740,784,723. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ANET. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.45.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc develops and sells cloud networking solutions for data centers, campus environments and high-performance computing applications. Its products include Ethernet switches, routers, wireless access points and related networking equipment designed to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, enterprise and service-provider networks.

The company’s software portfolio includes Arista EOS, its network operating system, and CloudVision, a platform that helps customers manage, automate and monitor network infrastructure.