Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ANET. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $231.70.

Arista Networks Stock Up 4.2%

ANET stock opened at $215.50 on Monday. Arista Networks has a fifty-two week low of $114.52 and a fifty-two week high of $216.07. The stock has a market cap of $271.79 billion, a PE ratio of 67.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.62.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.13. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.37% and a return on equity of 30.65%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Arista Networks will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.30, for a total value of $60,990,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 181,143,048 shares in the company, valued at $36,826,381,658.40. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 767,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $154,341,575.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,387,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,297,589,536.82. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,387,316 shares of company stock worth $676,926,570 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

More Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista reached $215.36, a new 52-week high, while the broader market extended its rally. Arista was listed alongside Astera Labs and GE Vernova as a leading AI-stock purchase, reinforcing investor appetite for AI infrastructure companies. Arista Networks reaches a fresh 52-week high
• Positive Sentiment: Reports attributed gains across Arista, Cisco and Ciena to rising demand for AI networking equipment. Ciena led the group, but the move supports the investment case for Arista’s Ethernet switching and data-center infrastructure business. AI networking demand lifts networking stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein began coverage of Arista with an “Outperform” rating, adding another favorable institutional research view. Broader analyst coverage remains supportive, with the company carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and a reported average price target of $231.70. Bernstein starts coverage with an Outperform rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista will report third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on November 3, followed by a management conference call. The announcement gives investors a defined near-term catalyst, with results likely to test whether AI-driven demand is translating into revenue and earnings growth. Arista schedules third-quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: Director Mark Templeton sold 5,000 shares worth approximately $1.02 million. Because the transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited bearish signal, but it may still attract attention after the stock’s strong advance. Director insider sale

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc develops and sells cloud networking solutions for data centers, campus environments and high-performance computing applications. Its products include Ethernet switches, routers, wireless access points and related networking equipment designed to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, enterprise and service-provider networks.

The company’s software portfolio includes Arista EOS, its network operating system, and CloudVision, a platform that helps customers manage, automate and monitor network infrastructure.