Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.4375.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Arista Networks News Summary

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 Stock Down 3.3%

ANET opened at $132.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $166.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.64. Arista Networks has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $164.94.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.99% and a return on equity of 30.37%. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.43, for a total value of $1,123,440.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,967.12. This represents a 44.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total value of $4,558,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,301.44. This represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 218,042 shares of company stock worth $28,561,131. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,973 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Cambient Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,702,000. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,157,000. Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $483,000. Finally, Evansbrook LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $879,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

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.