Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “buy,” contributing to an overall analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.68.
• Cisco reported quarterly revenue of $17.25 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.22, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 17.6% year over year.
• Investor sentiment is supported by AI infrastructure demand and Splunk-related opportunities, though concerns remain around margin pressure, rising memory costs, competition and Cisco’s elevated valuation.

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

A number of other research analysts have also commented on CSCO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research cut Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.68.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $109.51 on Friday. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $66.81 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The firm has a market cap of $431.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.03 and a 200-day moving average of $104.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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, equities research 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 that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,586,938.96. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $42,129,647,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $5,103,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,106 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $4,714,574,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,609,227,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224,062 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Splunk is expanding Cisco’s AI opportunity by enabling self-hosted agents that operate behind customers’ firewalls. This could broaden the addressable market, although pricing and customer commitments have not been disclosed. Cisco Climbs 3.3% as Splunk Takes AI Behind the Firewall
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights strong AI infrastructure demand, including sharply higher hyperscaler orders, accelerating remaining performance obligations and opportunities from a networking-equipment replacement cycle. Cisco’s latest reported quarter also delivered robust revenue growth and exceeded analysts’ expectations. Cisco Stock Could Soon Wake From Its Summer Slumber
• Positive Sentiment: New Splunk AI products, cloud alliances and tools designed to track AI token usage could strengthen Cisco’s security and observability offerings and improve monetization of enterprise AI adoption. The Bull Case For Cisco Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s participation in Verizon’s expanded 6G Innovation Forum, alongside major technology companies, supports its positioning in future 5G Advanced, edge-computing and network-platform opportunities. Verizon’s Expanded 6G Innovation Forum
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is emphasizing Cisco as a potential quality and cybersecurity beneficiary, but the investment view remains dependent on execution and valuation. Cisco Systems: The Flight to Quality in Tech
• Negative Sentiment: The three-month decline reflects investor concerns over gross-margin pressure, rising memory costs, competition and the pace of recurring-growth expansion. Cisco’s relatively elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointing guidance or execution. Cisco Drops 8% in 3 Months

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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