Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Down 1% – Here’s Why

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price fell 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $192.05 and last traded at $192.93. 3,672,184 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 8,285,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, August 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.76.

Arista Networks Trading Down 1.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $243.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.04.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.65% and a net margin of 38.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total value of $119,811.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,688,434.17. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total transaction of $60,780,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,782,694 shares of company stock worth $726,728,187. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $3,058,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 6,591 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,279,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. grew its stake 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 worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 14,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $1,558,563,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc designs, develops and sells cloud networking solutions for large data centers, cloud service providers, internet companies, enterprises and other organizations. Its portfolio includes high-performance Ethernet switches, routers and wireless networking products used to connect servers, storage systems, users and applications across data center and campus environments.

The company’s software offerings include Arista EOS, its Linux-based network operating system, and CloudVision, a cloud-based platform for network management, automation, monitoring and analytics.