Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Major Shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim Sells 240,000 Shares

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.67, for a total transaction of $39,040,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,043,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,612,942,618.16. The trade was a 0.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Andreas Bechtolsheim also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 1st, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.22, for a total transaction of $42,697,200.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.57, for a total value of $43,048,200.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 220,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.93, for a total value of $34,744,600.00.
• On Thursday, June 4th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 240,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total value of $39,134,400.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 220,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.86, for a total transaction of $34,509,200.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 205,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.74, for a total transaction of $31,106,700.00.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Arista Networks stock traded down $7.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.03. 8,965,295 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,408,755. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.94 and a 52 week high of $179.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.68. The company has a market cap of $209.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ANET shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $176.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Arista Networks from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,558,563,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 82.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,587,115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,396,939,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332,659 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Arista Networks by 3,182.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,012,373 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $525,741,000 after buying an additional 3,890,146 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,878,360 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,032,302,000 after buying an additional 2,934,098 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,240,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960,829 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arista is still being viewed as a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout, with reports highlighting strong demand for its high-speed networking gear as cloud and data center operators expand AI capacity. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Extends AI Network Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says ANET is nearing a technical buy point, which can attract momentum and growth investors looking for an entry in a strong AI-related name. Dow Jones Payments Leader Visa Breaks Out; Arista Networks Eyes Buy Point
• Positive Sentiment: The company confirmed it will report Q2 2026 results on August 4, keeping attention on upcoming earnings that could validate growth expectations. Arista Networks to Announce Q2 2026 Financial Results on Tuesday, August 4, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and institutional investors remain generally constructive, with strong buy/buy ratings and continued ownership by funds supporting sentiment, though this is not a fresh catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Charles Giancarlo and major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim may weigh on sentiment, even though the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Director Charles Giancarlo Sells 8,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to reports that ANET dipped more than the broader market in the latest session, suggesting some profit-taking after a strong run. Why Arista Networks (ANET) Dipped More Than Broader Market Today

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.