Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CSCO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citic Securities upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One research 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $111.68 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $65.75 and a 12 month high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,469,312.55. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,134 shares of company stock valued at $3,739,000. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,203 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. August Group Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. August Group Capital Ltd now owns 4,723 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Insights Inc. boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CPA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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.