Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Bought by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,766 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,310 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $12,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Mack & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at $31,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the second quarter valued at $29,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 17,333 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.91, for a total transaction of $3,135,713.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,347,488.16. The trade was a 57.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 1,224 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $263,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,769,855. This represents a 1.75% 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 90 days, insiders sold 2,067,489 shares of company stock worth $406,340,373. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Arista Networks from $250.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $230.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Melius Research set a $305.00 price target on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $240.24.

Arista Networks Price Performance

ANET stock opened at $196.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.61. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.52 and a 52-week high of $217.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.53.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.97% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 58.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Recent Arista Networks Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about ANET:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its earnings estimates across fiscal 2026 and 2027, projecting $6.02 per share for fiscal 2027, and maintained an Overweight rating with a $250 price target. The revisions add to the growth case, though they reflect one analyst’s forecasts. KeyCorp estimate and rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Co-founder Andreas Bechtolsheim has sold about $668 million of shares since May, but reports say the transactions were made under a pre-arranged trading plan. He retains a very large stake, which may temper concerns that the sales signal a change in outlook. Arista’s Co-Founder Has Sold About $668 Million of Stock Since May
• Negative Sentiment: A wider AI-stock sell-off remains a near-term risk, and Arista underperformed some competitors despite rising in Wednesday’s session. Sector volatility could limit gains even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Arista Networks stock underperforms competitors despite gains

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.