Arista Networks named a top AI stock by BNP Paribas
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Sep 25 2025
0mins
Should l Buy ANET?
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) has seen a significant price increase of 8.41% in pre-market trading, reaching a 5-day high.
Analyst Karl Ackerman from BNP Paribas has identified Arista as one of the top picks for AI investments, citing its substantial exposure to AI infrastructure bottlenecks and the expected growth in the data center networking market, which is projected to reach $120 billion by 2028. This recommendation comes amid a broader positive sentiment in the tech sector, as major indices like the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 are also experiencing gains.
The recognition from BNP Paribas highlights Arista's advantageous position in a rapidly growing market, driven by strong demand for AI-related networking solutions. This could lead to increased investor interest and further price appreciation for the stock.
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Analyst Views on ANET
Wall Street analysts forecast ANET stock price to rise
10 Analyst Rating
9 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 141.590
Low
159.00
Averages
172.88
High
200.00
Current: 141.590
Low
159.00
Averages
172.88
High
200.00
About ANET
Arista Networks, Inc. is a provider of data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large artificial intelligence (AI), data center, campus and routing environments. Its platforms deliver availability, agility, automation, analytics, and security through an advanced network operating stack. Its platform is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modernized publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system. Its portfolio of products, services and technologies is grouped into various categories: Core (Data Center, Cloud and AI Networking), Cognitive Adjacencies (Campus and Routing), and Cognitive Network (Software and Services). It offers product portfolios of data-driven, high-speed, cloud and data center Ethernet switches. Its Cognitive Adjacencies include Cognitive Campus Switching, Cloud-Grade Routing and WAN Routing. Its software and services are based on subscription-based models and include various offerings: CloudVision, Arista A-Care Services, CloudEOS and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Arista Networks: A Hidden AI Investment Opportunity
- Market Potential: Analysts have set a 12-month target price of $175 for Arista Networks, implying a nearly 23.6% upside from the closing price on February 13, indicating strong market optimism regarding its future growth prospects.
- Revenue Growth Expectations: Arista's AI networking revenues are expected to nearly double to $3.25 billion by 2026, reflecting the company's increasingly critical role in AI data centers, particularly as demand for high-performance Ethernet infrastructure rises.
- Strong Profitability: Despite rising supply chain costs, Arista maintains gross margins in the low-to-mid-60% range and anticipates operating margins of 46% by 2026, demonstrating the sustainability and stability of its profitability.
- Software Business Enhances Competitiveness: Arista's network software and services, particularly its EOS operating system and CloudVision platform, have strengthened customer loyalty, serving over 10,000 customers and further improving the company's high-margin revenue mix.
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- Investment Commitment: Meta plans to invest $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 for data centers and infrastructure, including the construction of its two largest AI data centers, Prometheus and Hyperion, demonstrating a long-term commitment to AI technology.
- New Technology Deployment: The partnership will see Meta independently deploy Nvidia's Grace CPUs for the first time, aimed at optimizing AI inference workloads, thereby enhancing its data processing capabilities and strengthening its competitive position in the market.
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- Weekly Index Losses: The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% for the week, the Dow declined by 1.2%, and the Nasdaq recorded a 2.1% weekly loss, indicating a broader trend of market weakness across major indices.
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- Infrastructure Capacity: The joint blueprint will support up to 200 megawatts of AI infrastructure capacity in India, a scale that is crucial for training and inference clusters, thereby meeting the demands of large-scale AI deployments.
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Arista Networks: A Hidden AI Investment Opportunity
- Market Potential: Analysts have set a 12-month target price of $175 for Arista Networks, implying a nearly 23.6% upside from the closing price on February 13, indicating strong market optimism regarding its future growth prospects.
- Revenue Growth Expectations: Arista's AI networking revenues are expected to nearly double to $3.25 billion by 2026, reflecting the company's increasingly critical role in AI data centers, particularly as demand for high-performance Ethernet infrastructure rises.
- Strong Profitability: Despite rising supply chain costs, Arista maintains gross margins in the low-to-mid-60% range and anticipates operating margins of 46% by 2026, demonstrating the sustainability and stability of its profitability.
- Software Business Enhances Competitiveness: Arista's network software and services, particularly its EOS operating system and CloudVision platform, have strengthened customer loyalty, serving over 10,000 customers and further improving the company's high-margin revenue mix.
See More
Nvidia Secures Major Commitment from Meta: Implications for the Threat Posed by Broadcom's AI Chips.
- Meta Platforms and Nvidia Partnership: Meta Platforms is entering a significant chips-and-networking deal with Nvidia, potentially worth tens of billions of dollars.
- Nvidia's Market Position: This collaboration highlights Nvidia's status as a leading player in the artificial intelligence processor market.
See More
Meta Expands Partnership with Nvidia for AI Chip Deployment
- Expanded Collaboration: Meta has announced a new deal with Nvidia to deploy millions of AI chips across U.S. data centers, marking a significant upgrade in their technology partnership and is expected to further propel Meta's advancements in AI.
- Investment Commitment: Meta plans to invest $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 for data centers and infrastructure, including the construction of its two largest AI data centers, Prometheus and Hyperion, demonstrating a long-term commitment to AI technology.
- New Technology Deployment: The partnership will see Meta independently deploy Nvidia's Grace CPUs for the first time, aimed at optimizing AI inference workloads, thereby enhancing its data processing capabilities and strengthening its competitive position in the market.
- Supply Chain Assurance: By collaborating closely with Nvidia, Meta secures a stable supply of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs, alleviating current chip shortages while also developing next-generation AI models to enhance its technological prowess.
See More
U.S. Stocks Close Mixed on Friday Amid Inflation Report
- Nasdaq Decline: Following the release of the inflation report, the Nasdaq Composite fell approximately 50 points during the session, reflecting market concerns over economic data and leading to subdued investor sentiment.
- Weekly Index Losses: The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% for the week, the Dow declined by 1.2%, and the Nasdaq recorded a 2.1% weekly loss, indicating a broader trend of market weakness across major indices.
- Analyst Rating Discrepancies: While Wall Street analysts issue new stock picks daily, investors face challenges due to significant variations in ratings and price targets among analysts, which undermines market confidence.
- Investor Confusion: The inconsistency in analysts' predictive accuracy leaves investors confused about which opinions to trust, potentially impacting their investment decisions and overall market participation.
See More
AMD Partners with TCS to Expand AI Data Centers in India
- Strategic Partnership: AMD is collaborating with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to roll out its latest AI data center design in India, aiming to capture market share from Nvidia, which underscores AMD's strategic commitment in the rapidly expanding AI sector.
- Infrastructure Capacity: The joint blueprint will support up to 200 megawatts of AI infrastructure capacity in India, a scale that is crucial for training and inference clusters, thereby meeting the demands of large-scale AI deployments.
- Technological Framework: The new design leverages Helios rack-scale architecture, incorporating AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs, next-generation EPYC “Venice” CPUs, and Pensando Vulcano networking, showcasing AMD's technological prowess and competitive edge in AI computing infrastructure.
- Market Outlook: With India ranking third globally in AI competitiveness, the partnership between AMD and TCS not only enhances local compute capacity but also accelerates data center construction, promoting widespread AI technology adoption, aligning with the strategic interests of global chip and cloud players.
See More
U.S. Stocks Close Higher as Software Stocks Recover
- Market Recovery: The S&P 500 index rose by 0.05%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.10%, and the Nasdaq 100 by 0.18% on Friday, indicating a recovery after early losses, reflecting cautious optimism among investors regarding future economic prospects.
- Inflation Data Impact: The U.S. January Consumer Price Index rose by 2.4% year-over-year, below the expected 2.5%, marking the smallest increase in seven months, which may prompt the Fed to continue cutting rates, thus providing support for the stock market and alleviating concerns over rate hikes.
- Strong Software Stock Performance: Software stocks like Crowdstrike Holdings and ServiceNow rose over 4% and 3%, respectively, lifting the broader market and indicating a rebound in investor confidence in tech stocks, particularly amid rapid advancements in AI technology.
- Metal Stocks Retreat: Reports of the Trump administration's plans to narrow tariffs on steel and aluminum products led to declines in metal companies, with Century Aluminum falling over 7%, reflecting the negative impact of policy changes on the sector.
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