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

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) dropped 3.3% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $132.15 and last traded at $132.7170. Approximately 8,290,755 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily 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 sale, the insider directly owned 512,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,940,140. This represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total transaction of $4,558,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,301.44. The trade was a 71.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ANET. Erste Group Bank downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $184.00 target price (up previously from $183.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arista Networks from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 Trading Down 3.3%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.50. The company has a market cap of $166.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.42.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.99% and a return on equity of 30.37%. The company’s revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Arista Networks by 56.7% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 141.3% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.