Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stake

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,596 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,735 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $74,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management increased its position in Arista Networks by 7.6% during the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 26,889 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,474,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Arista Networks by 3.2% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 2.4% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 138,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,109,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 60,528 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $234.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.24.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

NYSE:ANET traded up $11.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.70. 11,977,293 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,207,998. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $114.52 and a one year high of $217.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.70.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.37% and a return on equity of 30.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 130,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.10, for a total transaction of $28,343,056.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,774,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,036,585,416.10. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 267,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $45,860,431.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 180,275,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,861,303,955.64. The trade was a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 2,380,998 shares of company stock valued at $482,687,801 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista reported third-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion, up 58.5% year over year and above estimates, while EPS of $1.20 also beat expectations. The company raised its outlook, citing demand for AI data-center networking, Ethernet adoption, and growth across hyperscale and enterprise customers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support offers another tailwind: Melius Research initiated coverage with a “strong-buy” rating, while other recent reports cited buy ratings and bullish price targets. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The recent selloff has left investors debating whether the pullback creates a buying opportunity. ANET has declined substantially over the past month despite its strong results, leaving sentiment divided. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and customer concentration remain risks: Arista’s premium forward earnings multiple leaves less room for disappointment, while reliance on a limited number of large customers could make growth more vulnerable to spending changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have also faced pressure from a broader AI-infrastructure stock selloff and reported insider sales. Those sales included transactions under pre-arranged trading plans, but can still add to near-term investor caution. Read More.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc develops software-driven networking products for large data centers, cloud environments, AI workloads, and enterprise campuses. Its offerings include Ethernet switches and routers, along with software and services for managing, monitoring, and securing networks.

The company’s software portfolio includes its Extensible Operating System (EOS), which runs across its networking platforms, and CloudVision, a platform for network automation and management. Arista’s products are used by cloud providers, businesses, and other organizations to connect and manage computing infrastructure.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Arista serves customers worldwide.