Piper Sandler Reaffirms "Neutral" Rating for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Key Points

• Piper Sandler reaffirmed its Neutral rating on Cisco and cut its price target from $125 to $112, implying about 15.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst opinion overall remains positive: MarketBeat reports a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $126.18, though ratings range from Strong Buy to Hold.
• Cisco reported quarterly EPS of $1.40 and revenue of $18.52 billion, beating analyst estimates for both; shares fell $5.40 to $96.61 on Friday.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $112.00 price objective on the network equipment provider's stock, down from their prior price objective of $125.00. Piper Sandler's price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.93% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Freedom Capital raised Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.18.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $5.40 on Friday, reaching $96.61. 10,019,665 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,994,316. The firm's 50 day moving average is $108.02 and its 200-day moving average is $102.13. Cisco Systems has a one year low of $72.80 and a one year high of $130.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $380.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $18.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Cisco Systems has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.340-1.360 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 5.470-5.530 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 163,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,996,470.66. This represents a 0.41% 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. Insiders sold 6,824 shares of company stock valued at $759,392 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,442,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $60,009,000. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 60.5% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,372 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $5,926,000 after purchasing an additional 28,792 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $19,114,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 24.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 363,506 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $47,287,000 after purchasing an additional 71,774 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Latest Cisco Systems News

Investors following CSCO have been watching these news items:

• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: Truist and Rosenblatt kept Buy ratings despite lowering their price targets, while Goldman Sachs maintained Hold. The revisions may temper enthusiasm even as the firms’ targets remain above the current share price. TipRanks article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focusing on margin pressure from higher hardware exposure and memory costs, which could limit how much of the strong sales growth translates into profit. Zacks article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader weakness and volatility across technology stocks, including Nvidia-related market concerns, may also be weighing on CSCO as investors reassess growth-stock valuations. Stocktwits article

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks. The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.

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