Evercore Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock

Key Points

• Evercore sharply raised its price target on Cisco Systems from $110 to $150 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 28.9% upside from the prior close.
• Cisco posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $15.84 billion and EPS of $1.06 both topping analyst estimates, while revenue rose 12% year over year.
• The company also lifted fiscal 2026 guidance and highlighted strong AI infrastructure orders, including roughly $9 billion in hyperscaler AI-related demand, signaling optimism about future growth.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Evercore from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the network equipment provider's stock. Evercore's price target points to a potential upside of 28.89% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CSCO. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $91.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $108.32.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO traded up $14.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $116.38. The company had a trading volume of 34,663,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,660,469. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $62.30 and a twelve month high of $119.36. The stock has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $83.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.36.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $134,410.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares in the company, valued at $12,076,329.51. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,392,000 after acquiring an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $6,289,000 after purchasing an additional 590,650 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

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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