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

General American Investors Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,142 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $8,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Mack & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the third quarter worth about $27,000. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, CFO Chantelle Breithaupt sold 1,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $263,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,769,855. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 130,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.10, for a total transaction of $28,343,056.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,774,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,036,585,416.10. This represents a 2.66% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,380,998 shares of company stock valued at $482,687,801. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET traded up $11.54 on Friday, hitting $170.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,977,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,207,998. The company has a market capitalization of $215.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.61. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.52 and a fifty-two week high of $217.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.70.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.65% and a net margin of 38.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 58.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Arista Networks

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ANET. Weiss Ratings downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $234.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.24.

About Arista Networks

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.