Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET). In a filing disclosed on May 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Arista Networks stock on April 1st. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH TAX EFFICIENT CORE” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) on 4/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/15/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/11/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 4/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) on 4/7/2025.

Arista Networks Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ANET stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,866,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,071,408. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.20. The company has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Arista Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total value of $4,593,214.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $102,187.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at $512,305.20. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 410,867 shares of company stock worth $37,056,669. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 1.5% in the first quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 31.3% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 525 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 2.7% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,061 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 9.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KGI Securities downgraded Arista Networks to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.14.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.