Wall Street Zen Upgrades Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) to “Buy”

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

CSCO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CICC Research boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citic Securities lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $111.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $440.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $65.75 and a 12 month high of $130.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $117.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.24.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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 will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares in the company, valued at $20,920,694.24. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at $76,469,312.55. This trade represents 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 valued at $3,739,000 over the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,442,000. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Cisco Systems by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 198,549 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,905,000 after acquiring an additional 26,455 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 101.8% during the 4th quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,306 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after acquiring an additional 54,141 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 200,341 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $15,432,000 after acquiring an additional 64,144 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,372 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,926,000 after acquiring an additional 28,792 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

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.