Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised Cisco’s price target sharply to $132 from $86, while keeping a neutral rating, implying about 13.4% upside from the prior close.
• Cisco reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $15.84 billion and EPS of $1.06, and it also lifted fiscal 2026 guidance above Wall Street estimates.
• Investor sentiment has improved on Cisco’s AI growth story, as the company highlighted roughly $9 billion in hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders for FY2026, even as it pursues job cuts tied to its AI-focused restructuring.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $86.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the network equipment provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 13.42% from the stock's previous close.

CSCO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research lowered Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.32.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 14.2%

Shares of NASDAQ 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 market capitalization of $459.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $83.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $62.30 and a twelve month high of $119.36.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $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 analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820 over the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $400,190,000 after buying an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Cisco Systems by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,256,144,000 after buying an additional 14,874,407 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 110.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,259,369,000 after buying an additional 9,648,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,876,219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,679,422 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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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