Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 2% Following Insider Selling

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) was down 2% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $126.92 and last traded at $130.23. Approximately 6,342,842 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 8,833,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.89.

Specifically, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.06, for a total transaction of $54,041.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,283.74. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $184.00 price target (up from $183.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $159.00) 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista 2.0 strategy gaining traction — company hit a 150M port milestone and is pushing AI-focused, SaaS/cloud networking products that position it to capture AI datacenter spending. This is the main bullish operational narrative investors are buying. Arista 2.0 Strategy Picks Up Steam
• Positive Sentiment: Street attention to AI exposure — media and some analysts call Arista an underrated AI/infra play, which can attract rotation interest into ANET if AI capex remains strong. 1 Underrated AI Stock to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at Bernstein Insights — useful for messaging and investor Q&A but no new financials; helps clarity on roadmap rather than immediate re-rate. Arista Presents at Bernstein Insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector context: peers like Ciena are also citing AI-driven demand and large backlogs — a supportive industry backdrop that can help Arista’s growth story but isn’t company-specific proof. Ciena to Report Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 422 shares (~$54k) recently — a small position reduction but still a visible insider sale that can be cited by short-term traders. Director Sells 422 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation friction: ANET is trading below its recent moving averages on lighter volume and carries a high multiple (PE ~47). Those factors can magnify downside on profit-taking or if AI capex commentary disappoints. ANET Stock Summary & Metrics

Arista Networks Trading Down 2.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $163.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.31 and its 200-day moving average is $137.39.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2,118.2% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.