Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Down 1.4% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) dropped 1.4% on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $169.89 and last traded at $170.1840. Approximately 13,867,475 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the average daily volume of 7,755,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.62.

The technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.01). Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.37% and a net margin of 38.99%.Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised Q2 EPS guidance to $0.88 (vs. consensus $0.84), while revenue guidance is roughly in line with expectations (~$2.8B) — a near-term earnings beat that supports the bull case for continued demand in data center/AI networking.
• Positive Sentiment: Arista reported solid Q1 results and management tone was upbeat, highlighting strong demand and a good net promoter score — results that validate the guidance raise and growth story. Arista Networks, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsements and analyst mentions (Jim Cramer and Zacks lists) are drawing retail and momentum interest, which can support near-term flows into ANET. Jim Cramer Says He “Would Buy Arista Networks”
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market strength (S&P/Nasdaq near record highs) is a tailwind for tech stocks generally, which may help limit downside if macro sentiment stays positive. S&P 500, Nasdaq Climb Back to Record Highs. Earnings Are in Focus.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary (Zacks) highlights Arista as a beneficiary of AI and hybrid work demand — supportive longer-term backdrop but already widely acknowledged by the market. 5 Stocks With High ROE to Buy as Markets Battle Intense Volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity has accelerated in April, which can create concern among some investors and add selling pressure despite company-level beats. Leading Insider Sales: April Activity Ramps in These Stocks (ANET)
• Negative Sentiment: ANET trades at a high multiple (P/E and PEG elevated), making it sensitive to growth execution misses or multiple compression — a valuation headwind if market sentiment shifts.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANET. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $200.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $178.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arista Networks news, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total transaction of $4,292,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,600.64. The trade was a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $75,944,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,209,207 shares in the company, valued at $924,321,690.08. This trade represents a 7.59% 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 1,494,729 shares of company stock worth $245,304,519 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 33.0% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 4,780 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter worth about $8,263,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter worth about $1,296,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 169,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 38.3% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 662,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,480,000 after acquiring an additional 183,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Stock Down 1.4%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $141.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.69. The company has a market capitalization of $214.29 billion, a PE ratio of 61.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.67.

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.