Top Strong Buy Stocks for August 25th
Stocks Added to Zacks Rank #1 List: Five stocks have been added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List, including First Financial Bancorp, Lumentum Holdings Inc., Arista Networks, Bar Harbor Bankshares, and TAT Technologies Ltd.
Earnings Estimates Increase: Each of these companies has seen an increase in their Zacks Consensus Estimate for current or next year earnings, ranging from 6.1% to 20.5% over the last 60 days.
Investment Opportunities: These stocks are considered strong investment opportunities, with previous recommendations from Zacks having achieved significant gains of +112% to +232%.
Access to Recommendations: Investors can access a complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks and download a report on the "7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days" for free.
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- Significant Microsoft Contribution: BofA analysts project that Microsoft will account for 26% of Arista's total revenue in 2025, despite its slow Ethernet deployment for AI back-end networks, indicating strong future growth potential for Arista.
- Strong Meta Growth: Meta's revenue is expected to grow 41% year-over-year in 2025, primarily driven by large Ethernet back-end deployments, with Arista's presence in the Leaf and Spine layers further solidifying its market position, although it faces competitive pressure from Nvidia and white box vendors.
- Revenue Delay Risks: Analysts noted a $2.5 billion increase in Arista's annual deferred revenues, which may mask actual order trends despite market share losses at Meta, with expectations for strong revenue growth in 2026.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Analysts anticipate Arista's revenue growth will exceed 30% in 2026, surpassing management's 25% guidance, driven by increased infrastructure spending from Agentic AI, highlighting strong demand in the cloud computing market.
- 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.
- Massive Investment: Nvidia is in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, potentially valuing the AI startup at $730 billion, reflecting strong market confidence in AI technologies.
- Complex Investment Background: This investment is separate from the $100 billion infrastructure agreement announced in September, which involves Nvidia gradually investing in OpenAI to support the rollout of its supercomputing facilities over the coming years.
- Investment Uncertainty: Although Nvidia's $30 billion investment is not finalized and details are still subject to change, company executives have indicated a commitment to participate in OpenAI's next funding round, highlighting ongoing interest in the AI sector.
- Accelerated Fundraising Discussions: OpenAI is also engaging with other investors for fundraising discussions, with total funding potentially reaching $100 billion, indicating strong market interest and confidence in its future development.
- Performance Overview: ClearBridge's ESG strategy underperformed the benchmark S&P 500 Index in Q4 2025, indicating relative weakness in its portfolio that may affect investor confidence and future capital inflows.
- New Investment Positions: The fund initiated new positions in Arista Networks, Boston Scientific, Amphenol, and Ferguson Enterprises during Q4, suggesting optimism about their growth potential, which could lead to future revenue increases.
- Exited Investments: In the same quarter, the fund exited positions in Oracle, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Lennar, and Texas Instruments, reflecting a cautious outlook on these companies, which may impact short-term performance.
- Market Outlook: Arista Networks expects growth to pick up in the second half of 2026, and if this expectation materializes, it could enhance ClearBridge's investment returns and strengthen its competitive position in the ESG space.
- Growing Market Demand: Analyst James Schneider from Goldman Sachs highlights a surge in demand for high-speed, short-range connectivity in AI data centers, which is expected to further drive growth for Credo Technology Group, showcasing the company's strong market potential.
- Buy Rating and Price Target: Goldman Sachs initiates coverage on Credo with a buy rating and sets a 12-month price target of $165, indicating a 29% upside from Wednesday's close, reflecting the analyst's confidence in the company's future performance.
- Significant Technological Advantage: Credo's Active Electrical Cables (AECs) technology offers low-cost, high-bandwidth, and highly reliable connectivity solutions, and Schneider believes this technology will remain mainstream for at least the next five years, further solidifying the company's market position.
- Diversification Strategy: Schneider commends Credo's diversification efforts into optical solutions, which he believes will support long-term growth, while also appreciating the company's carefully managed guidance and investor messaging.
- Australian Market Recovery: Following the Lunar New Year holiday, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index opened 0.81% higher, indicating a rebound in investor confidence that could drive economic recovery.
- Strong Opening for Japan: Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a strong opening post-holiday, with Chicago futures at 57,645, up from the last close of 57,143.84, reflecting optimism in the tech sector.
- U.S. Market Influence: The U.S. S&P 500 rose 0.56% to close at 6,881.31, primarily driven by gains in technology stocks, as investors focused on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes, which may spill over to the Asia-Pacific markets.
- Taiwan Market Closed: While the overall sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region is positive, the Taiwan market remains closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, prompting investors to watch for reactions once trading resumes.










