Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $110.06 and last traded at $111.68. 29,341,910 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 23,770,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.47.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $1.22 exceeded the $1.17 consensus estimate. Networking product orders rose 40%, reflecting strong data-center and AI demand. Cisco fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum remains a major growth catalyst: Cisco booked $9.3 billion of AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers in fiscal 2026 and expects approximately $7.5 billion of related revenue in fiscal 2027. Cisco AI networking supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance topped Wall Street expectations, with revenue forecast at $72.2 billion-$73.4 billion and non-GAAP EPS at $5.05-$5.11. Several firms, including UBS, Wells Fargo and Rosenblatt, raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2, providing continued income support for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: The central concern is margin pressure. AI growth is arriving primarily through hardware, which carries lower product margins and could dilute profitability as the sales mix shifts toward large infrastructure deployments. Cisco AI hardware margin analysis
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts despite strong results. Investors also appear to have expected an even more aggressive outlook after Cisco’s substantial rally. HSBC Cisco rating cut

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CSCO. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. New Street Research lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $440.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.00.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares in the company, valued at $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.