Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Holdings Lifted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,878,360 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,934,098 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,032,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,549,000. Bensler LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,350,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 169,613 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,217 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,621 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,058,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANET opened at $154.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $194.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.61. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.58 and a 52 week high of $179.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.90.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.32% and a return on equity of 30.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ANET. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Arista Networks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (up from $184.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 220,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.86, for a total value of $34,509,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,803,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,674,486,109.28. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. 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, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 13,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total transaction of $2,140,947.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,531.68. This trade represents a 58.20% 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. Insiders have sold 1,943,142 shares of company stock worth $314,941,943 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista’s latest bullish commentary highlighted surging AI networking demand, market leadership, and pricing power, with management/model assumptions pointing to a larger total addressable market and strong revenue growth through 2028. Arista Networks: TAM Expansion And Surging AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces emphasized that Arista remains a favorite among growth investors because of AI infrastructure spending, high gross margins, and expectations for continued earnings expansion. US High Growth Tech Stocks with Promising Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest has stayed elevated, with multiple articles noting ANET’s strong post-earnings performance and continued attention from traders and analysts. Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage focused on valuation debate after Arista’s strong rally, suggesting investors are weighing rich expectations against its growth profile. Is It Too Late To Consider Arista Networks (ANET) After Its Strong 1-Year Rally?
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold 8,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which can create mild sentiment pressure even though the sale was not viewed as a surprise. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Director Charles Giancarlo Sells 8,000 Shares

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.