Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 1.3% – What’s Next?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $79.42 and last traded at $79.12. 22,573,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 24,065,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.14.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Networking revenue acceleration — Cisco reported a jump in networking revenue (Zacks: fiscal Q2 networking +~21% to $8.29B), driven by AI and campus demand, which supports upside to future revenue and margin leverage. Cisco’s Networking Revenue Growth Picks Up: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and talent pipeline — Cisco and Indeed launched a global partnership and a dedicated career hub for India (boosts talent pipeline for Cisco Networking Academy), supporting long-term adoption of Cisco training/services in key markets. Cisco Networking Academy and Indeed Launch Global Partnership, Debut Dedicated Career Hub for India
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Cisco raised its quarterly dividend (to $0.42), a steady income cue that can support investor demand and lower perceived risk for income-oriented holders.
• Neutral Sentiment: Security thought leadership — Cisco published Splunk’s CISO survey on AI governance and risk; reinforces Cisco’s positioning in security but is more strategic/PR than an immediate revenue catalyst. Splunk Report: Agentic AI Takes Center Stage in CISOs’ Path to Digital Resilience
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context — Analyst pieces compare Cisco vs. peers (e.g., Ciena) on AI-driven optical backlogs; highlights competition in parts of the networking stack but does not materially change Cisco’s visible AI order book. Ciena vs. Cisco: Which Networking Stock is a Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market performance note — Coverage pieces observe Cisco has outpaced the Dow over the past year but analysts remain cautiously optimistic; useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Is Cisco Systems Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears anomalous — February short-interest reporting shows implausible zero/NaN figures; no clear short-squeeze signal from the data as published.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares (filed with the SEC). While modest in size, insider sales can create short-term perception pressure. SEC Filing – Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution — Erste Group downgraded CSCO to Hold citing gross-margin concerns, a reminder margins could cap multiple expansion if cost/price dynamics weaken. Erste Group Downgrades Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) to Hold on Margin Concerns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. President Capital reduced their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore upgraded Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.58. The stock has a market cap of $312.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $854,848.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 262,776 shares in the company, valued at $19,970,976. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,003,220. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 75,677 shares of company stock valued at $5,811,211 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 24,562 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 6,705 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.