A $7.8m “insider sale” at Arista in which the insider’s own share count did not move at all Kenneth Duda · Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET)
- Who
- Kenneth Duda, co-founder, president and chief technology officer of Arista Networks, and a director.
- What they did — 20 October 2026
- Exercised 17,333 non-qualified options at $14.1463 (expiry 7 February 2029) and sold 17,333 shares across six weighted-average buckets from $177.9108 to $182.7925. Separately, a trust for one of his children sold 16,000 shares and his 501(c) foundation sold 10,000, both into the same six buckets on the same day. Total 43,333 shares, roughly $7.84m gross.
- The document
- Form 4, accession 0001596532-26-000248, period 20 October, filed 22 October by Isabelle Bertin-Bailly as attorney-in-fact. Three distinct Rule 10b5-1 plans, all dated 11 March 2026: his own (F1), one adopted for the benefit of his children (F8), and one entered into by the foundation where he and his spouse are co-trustees (F10). Holdings reported without transaction: GRAT KD 690,621, GRAT JD 692,104 (spouse trustee), family trust 81,927.
| Entity | Shares sold | Gross (est.) | Held after | % of that holding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct (Duda) | 17,333 | $3.14m | 12,976 | 0.0% |
| Children’s Trust | 16,000 | $2.89m | 1,154,918 | −1.37% |
| Foundation | 10,000 | $1.81m | 432,400 | −2.26% |
Consensus read
Arista’s president and CTO sold roughly $7.8m of stock on 20 October. One more line in the running tech-insider-selling tally, mitigated by the fact that it ran under a 10b5-1 plan.
The mitigation is real and the number is arithmetically correct. The shares did change hands and the money is real.
Contrarian read
None of the $7.8m reduced his personal common-stock position, and the most interesting entity on the form is the foundation — which is being run on the same execution schedule as the family money rather than as an independent holder.
The headline counts an option conversion as a disposal, and counts two entities in which he disclaims beneficial ownership as him.
The evidence that discriminates
- His direct share count is identical before and after: 12,976. The exercise added 17,333, taking him to 30,309; the sale removed 17,333, taking him back to 12,976. The sale is matched to the exercise to the share. The economic event is converting a 2029 option into about $3.14m gross less $245,218 of strike — not a reduction in exposure. Any tally that uses $7.8m as “insider selling” is counting a conversion as a disposal, and 60% of the shares were not his to begin with.
- Three entities, one instruction set. The foundation’s sales ran under a plan “entered into on 11 March 2026 by the foundation” — the same date as both family plans — executing on the same day into the same six weighted-average prices, to four decimal places. Independent grantmaking does not synchronise to the hundredth of a cent.
- The sizing tells you which numbers are decisions. The trust sold a round 16,000 and the foundation a round 10,000; his own 17,333 is option-determined residue. Round numbers are targets.
What would falsify me
A Form 4 showing him selling shares not sourced from an option exercise, or his direct holding dropping below 12,976, falsifies the first claim immediately.
A foundation sale on a date the family accounts do not trade, or under a plan with a different adoption date, falsifies the second.
Pattern vs his own history EDGAR full-text returns 182 Forms 4 from Duda mentioning a GRAT, the earliest dated 15 December 2017. The structure is nine years old and the cadence is roughly monthly. Nothing about 20 October breaks it, which is exactly why it is in the log and not on the board.