Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from “Buy” to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $129.68.
• Cisco reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.22 per share and revenue of $17.25 billion, up 17.6% year over year; shares were trading around $112.13.
• Insiders sold approximately $5.75 million of Cisco stock over the past three months under pre-arranged trading plans, while institutional investors own 73.33% of the company.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CSCO. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.68.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $112.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.30. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $66.13 and a 12 month high of $130.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at $67,226,273.40. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,004 shares of company stock worth $5,750,920. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11,624.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 706,130,053 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $82,942,036,000 after purchasing an additional 700,107,427 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,129,647,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,892,379,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Key Cisco Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors also responded to Cisco’s recent commentary on AI networking, including meaningful hyperscaler orders, a networking refresh cycle and growing demand for high-performance infrastructure. Cisco’s latest quarterly results showed record revenue, earnings above guidance and 35% growth in total product orders, while management raised fiscal 2027 expectations. Cisco Systems rises as investors weigh upbeat AI networking commentary and a broader tech rally
• Positive Sentiment: A broader technology-sector rally, supported by an inflation reading near expectations and lower oil prices, provided an additional tailwind for CSCO and other networking stocks. Ciena, Arista Networks and Cisco market move
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco and Infleqtion announced joint research into networked quantum technology, aiming to connect and scale distributed quantum systems. The opportunity is longer term and is unlikely to materially affect near-term revenue, but it supports Cisco’s technology-development narrative. Infleqtion and Cisco announce collaboration to advance networked quantum technology

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that provides networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and other information technology solutions. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data center infrastructure, security platforms, unified communications tools and software designed to help organizations connect, manage and protect their digital environments.

Cisco serves businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, telecommunications providers and other organizations worldwide.

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