--- title: "Insiders sold $97.6 million at Arista's record close, and the Nov 3 print decides if they were wrong" description: "Insiders sold $97.6 million of Arista stock on the day it closed at a record, attackers landed a third exploited zero-day in its VeloCloud tool, and consensus sits at the top of management's own guidance going into the November 3 print." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Data Center" published: 2026-10-27T14:28:03.298Z modified: 2026-10-27T14:28:03.298Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/insiders-sold-97-6-million-at-arista-s-record-close-and-the-nov-3-print-decides-if-they-were-wrong language: en keywords: "Arista Networks, Insider Trades, Earnings, Data Center Networking, Security" --- # Insiders sold $97.6 million at Arista's record close, and the Nov 3 print decides if they were wrong > Insiders sold $97.6 million of Arista stock on the day it closed at a record, attackers landed a third exploited zero-day in its VeloCloud tool, and consensus sits at the top of management's own guidance going into the November 3 print. On October 9, [Arista Networks](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/arista-networks) [closed at a record $216.74](https://www.trefis.com/stock/anet/articles/620802/is-arista-networks-stocks-fall-a-bargain-or-a-warning/2026-10-27) [2]. By October 26 the stock had fallen 18.2% to $177.24 [2]. On the day of that record close, company insiders sold $97,642,614 of stock, by [a Form 4 disclosure reported by MT Newswires](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/arista-networks-insider-sold-shares-worth-7-839-496-according-to-a-recent-sec-filing-ce785cded08ffe23); two earlier filings show $59.7 million sold in September and $7.8 million more on October 23, and Barron's reported CEO [Jayshree Ullal](https://theinference.org/markets/people/jayshree-ullal) herself sold about $34 million [5][1]. The sellers, not the bulls, set the question for the November 3 earnings print [5][1]. *Chart: **The largest insider sale landed on Arista's record-close day** Bars ranking four disclosed insider sale amounts from Arista Networks between September and October 2026, with the October 9 record-close-day sale largest.* *Insider Form 4 sale amounts disclosed via MT Newswires [5] and CEO Jayshree Ullal's sale reported by Barron's via Finviz [1], in millions of dollars. Filings do not name which insider sold which block. [1][5]* ## The stakes are a third guidance raise 2026 revenue guidance was raised three times, to roughly $12.6 billion and 40% growth, with a 48-49% operating margin target [1]. Management's story, told on the August 4 call, is that the component shortage easing lets a rationed backlog finally ship [1]. ## The complication sits in the cash Purchase commitments have tripled to $9.7 billion, gross margin slipped to 63.4% from 65.6% a year earlier, operating cash flow fell to 35.7% of revenue from 62.5% in the prior quarter, and Ullal expects industry supply problems to run until 2028 [4][1][2]. Meanwhile Arista patched [a third actively exploited VeloCloud Orchestrator zero-day](https://www.securityweek.com/attackers-exploit-third-velocloud-orchestrator-zero-day-in-four-months/) in four months, CVE-2026-114625, and its own advisory says the tool is exposed by default with no configuration that prevents it [6]. Consensus for the quarter is $1.08 non-GAAP earnings on $3.31 billion revenue, parked at the very top of management's own $1.06-$1.08 guide, [with the whisper number at $1.15](https://finviz.com/news/408296/arista-must-prove-its-supply-fix-is-real-as-stock-slides-toward-range-lows) [1]. Matching the guide instead of clearing it suggests the supply relief was more gradual than the last call implied. ## What the bulls get to keep Bulls note the stock still trades at 37.1x forward earnings against a 10-year average of 33.6x, so the market already priced patience [3]. The reads to watch on November 3: revenue above $3.3 billion, gross margin holding 62-64%, and deferred revenue of $6.9 billion converting to shipments [1]. ## Takeaway Arista's insiders sold $97.6 million at the top, cash metrics are deteriorating while consensus sits at the top of management's own guidance, and the November 3 print against the whisper number decides who was right. ## Sources 1. [Earnings Whispers via Finviz, Arista Must Prove Its Supply Fix Is Real As Stock Slides Toward Range Lows, 26 October 2026](https://finviz.com/news/408296/arista-must-prove-its-supply-fix-is-real-as-stock-slides-toward-range-lows) 2. [Trefis, Is Arista Networks Stock's Fall A Bargain Or A Warning?, 27 October 2026](https://www.trefis.com/stock/anet/articles/620802/is-arista-networks-stocks-fall-a-bargain-or-a-warning/2026-10-27) 3. [Yahoo Finance / TIKR, Up 13% In Last 12 Months, Can Arista Networks Stock Give Better Returns in 2026?, 26 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/13-last-12-months-arista-121923508.html) 4. [TradingKey, Arista Networks Inc Stock (ANET) Moved Up by 3.73% on Oct 26: What Signal Does It Send?, 26 October 2026](https://www.tradingkey.com/news/market-movers/262239941-market-movers-anet-20261026) 5. [MT Newswires via MarketScreener, Arista Networks Insider Sold Shares Worth $7,839,496, According to a Recent SEC Filing, 23 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/arista-networks-insider-sold-shares-worth-7-839-496-according-to-a-recent-sec-filing-ce785cded08ffe23) 6. [SecurityWeek, Attackers Exploit Third Arista VCO Zero-Day in Four Months, 24 October 2026](https://www.securityweek.com/attackers-exploit-third-velocloud-orchestrator-zero-day-in-four-months/) --- Insiders sold $97.6 million at Arista's record close, and the Nov 3 print decides if they were wrong — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/insiders-sold-97-6-million-at-arista-s-record-close-and-the-nov-3-print-decides-if-they-were-wrong