Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 3.3% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) fell 3.3% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $132.15 and last traded at $132.7170. 8,290,755 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 8,937,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.23.

Specifically, insider Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $3,701,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 512,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,940,140. This represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total value of $4,558,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,301.44. This represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $178.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.44.

Key Headlines Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst write-ups highlight Arista’s software-led differentiation — Zacks notes Arista’s EOS and CloudVision give it an “AI‑ready,” automated networking edge for enterprises and hyperscalers, supporting durable revenue and margin expansion. This underpins growth expectations and helps justify a premium multiple. Can Arista’s High-Performance Network Software Fuel Its Future Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamental results remain supportive: Arista’s Feb. 12 quarter beat on EPS and revenue with high margins and ~29% YoY revenue growth, which helps justify analyst upside and a high P/E relative to peers. (Background earnings release)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector-performance pieces show ANET has outperformed many computer & technology peers so far this year, reinforcing momentum and attracting momentum/sector rotation flows. Is Arista Networks (ANET) Stock Outpacing Its Computer and Technology Peers This Year?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ views are mixed — The Globe and Mail roundup notes differing analyst opinions across Arista and other tech names, indicating no clear consensus on near-term upside vs. valuation risk. Mixed analyst commentary can increase intraday volatility but doesn’t decisively move fundamentals. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on These Technology Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative pieces (e.g., sector/company comparisons) provide context but are unlikely to drive large moves unless they change earning forecasts or market share assumptions. Comparing Consensus Cloud Solutions & Arista Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SEC filings show Kenneth Duda disclosed sizable sales (reported on Feb. 17), totaling tens of thousands of shares at ~\$142 per share. Large insider disposals can spook investors and add downward pressure even when management says sales are for personal reasons. SEC Form 4 — Insider Sale

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $166.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.09, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $133.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.64.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.07. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.37% and a net margin of 38.99%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Arista Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 33.0% during the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after buying an additional 4,780 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,263,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,296,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,993,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,127,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,167 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $247,451,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.