Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

17 Sep 2026, 21:21 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET – Get Free Report) was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $204.91 and last traded at $199.6870. 7,020,330 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 8,160,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ANET. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued 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 raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.80.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Arista Networks

Arista Networks Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.65. The company has a market capitalization of $251.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.62.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Arista Networks has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.060-1.080 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Templeton sold 5,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.16, for a total value of $985,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,410 shares in the company, valued at $10,530,315.60. The trade was a 8.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total value of $119,811.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,688,434.17. The trade was a 0.87% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,527,694 shares of company stock worth $684,665,787. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,558,563,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,101,860,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the second quarter valued at about $537,736,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Arista Networks by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,878,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,032,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934,098 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,725,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,712,788,000 after buying an additional 2,497,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Arista Networks, Inc designs, develops and sells cloud networking solutions for large data centers, cloud service providers, internet companies, enterprises and other organizations. Its portfolio includes high-performance Ethernet switches, routers and wireless networking products used to connect servers, storage systems, users and applications across data center and campus environments.