Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays sharply raised its price target on Cisco Systems from $76 to $121, implying modest upside from the prior close and signaling a more bullish view on the stock.
• Cisco delivered a strong earnings report, with revenue of $15.84 billion and EPS of $1.06 both beating Wall Street estimates, while sales rose 12% year over year.
• The company also lifted its fiscal 2026 guidance and said AI infrastructure orders are surging, including about $9 billion in hyperscaler AI orders, reinforcing optimism around Cisco’s growth outlook.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $76.00 to $121.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.97% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial began coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.32.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO traded up $14.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $116.38. 34,663,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,660,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $459.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.92. Cisco Systems has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $119.36. The business's 50 day moving average price is $83.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.36.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,485,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 33,666 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Pacific Sage Partners LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.7% during the first quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 16,185 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported revenue of $15.84 billion, up 12% year over year and above Wall Street estimates, while adjusted EPS of $1.06 also topped expectations. Cisco Reports Third Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year fiscal 2026 guidance, with revenue now projected at $62.8 billion-$63.0 billion and EPS at $4.27-$4.29, both above consensus, signaling confidence in demand trends. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco said AI infrastructure orders are surging, including about $9 billion in hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders for FY2026, reinforcing the market’s view that Cisco is becoming a bigger AI play. Article about AI infrastructure orders
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, which supports its appeal to income-focused investors. MarketBeat dividend note
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco is cutting about 4,000 jobs as part of an AI-focused restructuring, with up to $1 billion in related charges; investors see this as a margin/efficiency move, but it also adds near-term execution risk. WSJ article

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.

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