Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 12.3% – Should You Sell?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares fell 12.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $74.09 and last traded at $75.00. 67,981,816 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 186% from the average session volume of 23,746,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.54.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco beat Q2 revenue and non‑GAAP EPS estimates and raised FY‑2026 and Q3 guidance, showing strong demand across networking and services. PR Newswire: Cisco Reports Second Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure momentum: Cisco disclosed about $2.1B of AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers and launched the Silicon One G300 switching silicon aimed at large AI clusters — supports long‑term growth narrative. PR Newswire: Q2 release (AI orders) InsiderMonkey: Silicon One G300
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets and reiterated buy/overweight ratings after the results (examples: UBS to $95, Citigroup to $90, BNP Paribas to $87, Rosenblatt reaffirmed $100 target), indicating continued analyst confidence. Benzinga: UBS price target MarketScreener: Citigroup
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share (small increase), supporting yield-focused investors but not a market‑moving surprise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in feeds is inconsistent (shows zero/NaN); no clear, actionable short‑interest signal from the provided entries.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin concerns: management flagged higher memory costs and noted gross margins came in below some estimates — this margin pressure is the primary reason traders are selling despite revenue beats. CNBC: Memory prices pressure margins
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: Cisco’s cautious/mixed near‑term outlook (margins/gross‑profit pressure) sparked a broader tech selloff and volatility pickup, amplifying the stock decline beyond company fundamentals. MarketWatch: Tech sector impact Benzinga: Tech selloff & VIX spike

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Evercore boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Melius Research upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.95.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 12.3%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.65%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 164,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total transaction of $12,812,864.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,316,053.30. This trade represents a 45.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $1,248,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 157,218 shares in the company, valued at $12,149,807.04. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 32.3% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,839 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.7% during the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA now owns 7,560 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.