Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price target increased by Barclays from $121.00 to $123.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. CICC Research increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.76.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 7.5%

CSCO traded down $9.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $114.55. The company had a trading volume of 15,389,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,446,775. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $65.75 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The stock has a market cap of $451.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.72.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company 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 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,162.87. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 in the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $1.22 exceeded the $1.17 consensus estimate. Networking product orders increased 40%, and total product orders rose 35%. Cisco fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains a major growth driver. Cisco received $4 billion of AI-related orders in Q4 and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, and expects AI infrastructure revenue to reach $7.5 billion in fiscal 2027. Cisco earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast Q1 fiscal 2027 revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.32 to $1.34. Full-year revenue guidance of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and EPS guidance of $5.05 to $5.11 also exceeded analyst expectations. Reuters Cisco outlook
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp and Morgan Stanley raised their price targets to $135 and maintained “overweight” ratings, while Rosenblatt lifted its target to $165 and upgraded the stock to “buy.” Analyst rating updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, implying an annualized yield of roughly 1.4%. This supports shareholder returns but is unlikely to be the primary near-term trading catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The strong results and guidance failed to clear already-high investor expectations after CSCO’s substantial 2026 rally. Analysts also highlighted squeezed gross margins, creating concern that AI-related growth may come with lower profitability. MarketWatch margin concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports also pointed to a services-revenue miss, adding to concerns about the quality and sustainability of Cisco’s growth. With a P/E ratio near 40, investors are demanding continued acceleration, leaving limited room for disappointment. CNBC Cisco earnings coverage

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.