Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 4.4% – Still a Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares were up 4.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $112.22 and last traded at $112.13. Approximately 14,021,159 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 22,780,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.44.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s latest earnings showed record revenue, earnings above guidance and 35% growth in total product orders. Management also raised fiscal 2027 expectations and said hyperscaler AI-infrastructure orders had reached meaningful scale, strengthening the company’s growth narrative. Cisco Systems rises as investors weigh upbeat AI networking commentary and a broader tech rally
• Positive Sentiment: A rally in networking peers, including Ciena and Arista Networks, and a generally stronger technology market are providing additional support for CSCO. Inflation data near expectations and easing oil prices also improved the broader market backdrop. Ciena Climbs 5% as Post-Earnings Selloff Reverses; Arista Networks Rises 5%, Cisco Jumps 4%
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco and quantum-computing company Infleqtion announced a research collaboration focused on connecting and scaling distributed quantum systems. The opportunity is long term, but it expands Cisco’s positioning in advanced networking infrastructure. Infleqtion and Cisco Announce Collaboration to Advance Networked Quantum Technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Although CSCO has weakened since its most recent earnings report, analysts’ median price target is reported at $130, above the current trading range. This signals potential upside but does not represent a new earnings forecast or rating change. Cisco Down Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: A legal dispute involving claims about Huawei source code is an overhang, while Cisco insiders reportedly made no open-market purchases and conducted numerous sales over the past six months. These factors may limit investor confidence despite the AI growth outlook.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Citic Securities upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.68.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.24. The company has a market capitalization of $442.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% 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 51,004 shares of company stock worth $5,750,920. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11,624.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 706,130,053 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,942,036,000 after purchasing an additional 700,107,427 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.5% in 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 period. Morgan Stanley increased 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 buying an additional 206,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that provides networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and other information technology solutions. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data center infrastructure, security platforms, unified communications tools and software designed to help organizations connect, manage and protect their digital environments.

Cisco serves businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, telecommunications providers and other organizations worldwide.