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 a $128.52 average price target.
• Cisco reported quarterly EPS of $1.22, ahead of the $1.17 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion.
• Shares opened at $112.20, near their 50-day average, while insiders sold approximately $5.0 million of stock over the past three months; institutional investors own 73.33% of the company.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CSCO. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $112.20 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.44. The company has a market cap of $442.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $66.81 and a twelve month high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at $18,638,447.48. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth $42,129,647,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,892,379,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,714,574,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,997,004,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “strong buy,” providing a notable near-term sentiment boost. Investors Heavily Search Cisco Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is scheduled to distribute approximately $1.66 billion in dividends on October 21. The payout reinforces the company’s shareholder-return appeal and may support demand for the stock. Cisco Dividend Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI infrastructure momentum remains a key catalyst: product orders increased 35% year over year in fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, while AI infrastructure orders reportedly exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company also announced a sovereign AI infrastructure partnership with Bell Canada, potentially expanding its networking, security and observability products in regulated markets. Bell Cisco Sovereign AI Pact
• Positive Sentiment: The industrial-control-system security market is projected to grow at a 16.5% annual rate through 2031, creating a favorable backdrop for Cisco’s cybersecurity business. Industrial Control System Security Market Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating, suggesting balanced expectations despite Cisco’s AI opportunity. Bernstein Cisco Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $125, indicating reduced upside expectations. Management’s cautious fiscal 2027 AI revenue outlook and the fact that AI represented only about 6% of fiscal 2026 revenue also highlight execution and valuation risks. Piper Sandler Cisco Price Target

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco's portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.

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