Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 1.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price shot up 1.1% on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $114.00 to $135.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Cisco Systems traded as high as $120.39 and last traded at $119.67. 21,147,187 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 23,443,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.33.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CSCO. HSBC raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. New Street Research upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,040,000.62. This represents a 1.63% 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. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,324 shares of company stock valued at $5,559,834. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Cisco to $135 from $114 and kept a buy rating, citing accelerating demand for AI-driven high-speed optical networking equipment. BofA raises Cisco, Ciena targets as AI optics boom accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also lifted its target on Cisco to $150 from $100 and reiterated a buy after the company’s strong quarterly results, reinforcing the bullish analyst view. Rosenblatt Raises its Price Target on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted Cisco as a major winner in the AI networking trade, noting that the stock has surged sharply over the past month as investors rotate toward infrastructure names benefiting from AI buildout. Cisco Soars 32% in a Month, Arista Falls 10%, Broadcom Drifts: The AI Networking Trade Has a Clear Winner
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco and Qumulo announced an industry-first CloudBridge architecture designed to help enterprises extend file workloads into the cloud and avoid hardware bottlenecks, adding another AI/cloud infrastructure use case for Cisco’s networking portfolio. Qumulo and Cisco Deliver Industry-First CloudBridge Architecture…
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also pointed to Cisco’s strong earnings and AI-related order growth, suggesting the company is seeing real operating leverage from the AI infrastructure cycle. AI Buildout Fuels Record Results for These Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Some momentum-focused articles simply framed Cisco as a top stock pick for traders, which supports the bullish narrative but does not add new fundamental information. Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Cisco Systems (CSCO) is a Great Choice
• Negative Sentiment: One article argued the Cisco trade may be getting crowded and fully priced, warning that some investors are now looking for cheaper AI networking alternatives like Nokia. Forget Cisco: Nokia Is the AI Networking Stock Nobody’s Watching

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $471.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. Analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

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.