Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 4.7% on Earnings Beat

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price rose 4.7% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $148.77 and last traded at $141.4550. Approximately 21,796,126 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 141% from the average daily volume of 9,053,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.12.

The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.07. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.28% and a net margin of 39.73%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Arista Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and strong outlook — Arista reported $0.82 EPS vs. $0.75 expected and $2.49B revenue (≈29% YoY), posted record net income, and issued revenue guidance above Street estimates, signaling sustained hyperscaler/AI capex demand. Arista Networks forecasts upbeat revenue as AI speeding lifts demand, shares jump
• Positive Sentiment: AI revenue lift — Management raised its AI revenue target materially (guiding AI revenue to ~$3.25B, implying a ~100% annual increase), reinforcing Arista’s positioning in AI infrastructure. Arista Networks Raises The Bar – Hyperscalers Unleash Capex (Q4 Review)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target lifts — Multiple firms (Needham, Wells Fargo, Rosenblatt) raised ratings/targets (PTs moved toward $185), adding institutional momentum and supporting the rally. Analyst price target coverage (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational resilience vs. peers — Coverage notes Arista handled supply-chain/margin pressures better than Cisco this quarter, which helped investor sentiment and relative performance. Arista Networks Stock Climbs. Why It Is Outshining Cisco.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosures and materials — Official press release, slides and call transcript provide detail for investors to model FY26 upside and margin assumptions. Arista Networks, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and trading activity — Unusually high options volume suggests elevated short-term speculation and hedging around the move; this increases intraday volatility but is not directional by itself. Arista Networks Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ANET)
• Negative Sentiment: Cost pressure risk — Management noted rising memory costs; although Arista said purchase commitments mitigate near-term impact, higher component costs could compress gross margins if they persist. Arista Networks Raises The Bar – Hyperscalers Unleash Capex (Q4 Review)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and short-term pullback risk — The stock is trading at a premium (high P/E) after a sharp post-earnings gap; investors should be mindful of valuation and possible volatility after the strong run. Is It Too Late To Consider Arista Networks (ANET) After A 23% One-Year Gain?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ANET. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.15, for a total value of $49,437.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,007. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 24,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,994,431.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,917 shares in the company, valued at $1,235,162.35. This trade represents a 70.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 216,464 shares of company stock worth $27,553,548 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANET. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Arista Networks by 2,118.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 56.7% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Up 4.7%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.42.

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.