Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price Up 8.7% – Still a Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) traded up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $181.27 and last traded at $180.9310. Approximately 11,857,868 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 8,789,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.46.

More Arista Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A bullish Seeking Alpha note reiterated Arista Networks (ANET) as a Strong Buy with a $216 price target, citing AI Fabrics, 800G switching, campus expansion, software/services growth, deferred revenue conversion, and operating leverage as key drivers. Arista Networks Is Expensive, But Still Worth It
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says ANET is benefiting from the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout, with demand for high-speed networking equipment supporting the stock’s growth narrative. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Extends AI Network Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Market watchers say ANET is nearing a technical buy point, which can attract momentum investors looking for an entry in a leading AI-related networking name. Dow Jones Payments Leader Visa Breaks Out; Arista Networks Eyes Buy Point
• Positive Sentiment: Arista confirmed it will report Q2 2026 results on August 4, keeping investor focus on earnings and management’s outlook for AI-related demand. Arista Networks to Announce Q2 2026 Financial Results on Tuesday, August 4, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive, with multiple firms maintaining Buy/Overweight ratings and a consensus target above current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by Andreas Bechtolsheim and Charles Giancarlo may weigh on sentiment, even though the trades were pre-planned under 10b5-1 programs. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Major Shareholder Sells 240,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that ANET dipped more than the broader market in the latest session suggest some profit-taking after a strong run. Why Arista Networks (ANET) Dipped More Than Broader Market Today

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Arista Networks from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $175.00 price objective on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.63.

Arista Networks Trading Up 8.7%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.83 billion, a PE ratio of 61.96, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.60.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.10% and a net margin of 38.32%.The business’s revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total value of $75,944,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,209,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,321,690.08. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.57, for a total value of $43,048,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,543,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,652,457.36. This trade represents a 0.14% 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 3,147,080 shares of company stock worth $513,396,642 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,549,000. Bensler LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,350,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Arista Networks by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 169,613 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,217 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,058,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,621 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

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.