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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $129.43.
• Cisco beat quarterly expectations with $1.22 adjusted EPS and $17.25 billion in revenue, up 17.6% year over year, supported by accelerating AI infrastructure demand and optimistic fiscal 2027 guidance.
• Despite strong results, shares opened down 1.6% at $111.68 as investors weighed elevated valuation, potential margin pressure from lower-margin AI hardware and questions about sustaining the AI-driven growth cycle.

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

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $111.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems has a one year low of $65.75 and a one year high of $130.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total transaction of $315,759.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 172,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 195,521,161 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $15,060,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,962 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 75,326,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $5,802,382,000 after purchasing an additional 206,352 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 6,224,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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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