15,000 Arista Networks, Inc. $ANET Shares Sold by General American Investors Co. Inc.

General American Investors Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,142 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $8,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ANET. State Street Corp raised its position in Arista Networks by 159.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 121,303,125 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,606,975,000 after acquiring an additional 74,541,134 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Arista Networks by 34.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,712,788,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497,275 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks by 199.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,630,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,635,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,409,612 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Arista Networks by 4.3% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,357,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,589,651,000 after acquiring an additional 388,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,440,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,433,951,000 after purchasing an additional 470,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.24.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 573,509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $119,364,428.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,203,250. This represents a 95.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $59,685,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 180,543,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,919,039,399.60. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 2,380,998 shares of company stock worth $482,687,801 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks News Summary

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.

Arista Networks Stock Up 7.2%

NYSE ANET traded up $11.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.70. The company had a trading volume of 11,977,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,207,998. The stock has a market cap of $215.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.70. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.52 and a fifty-two week high of $217.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks Profile

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.