Investors Buy High Volume of Cisco Systems Call Options (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 135,983 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 127% compared to the typical daily volume of 60,021 call options.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, with EPS of $1.06 topping estimates and sales of $15.84 billion above forecasts. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year guidance and pointed to roughly $9 billion in fiscal 2026 hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders, reinforcing the view that Cisco is becoming a key AI infrastructure beneficiary. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets after the earnings beat, including HSBC, Evercore, Piper Sandler, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, UBS, BNP Paribas, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, signaling broad Wall Street optimism. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s CEO said AI will force a “multi-billion dollar infrastructure reset,” which supports the bullish narrative that the company is at the center of a long upgrade cycle. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced plans to cut about 4,000 jobs as it reshapes spending toward AI, which may improve efficiency but adds some execution risk. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns that the stock’s rapid rally has pushed valuation higher, and options activity shows elevated volatility expectations heading into the next phase. Article title

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.21. The stock had a trading volume of 38,479,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,420,670. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.95. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $62.30 and a 52 week high of $119.36. The company has a market capitalization of $466.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citic Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,076,329.51. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,587 shares of company stock valued at $1,230,765. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,256,144,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874,407 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 110.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,259,369,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648,265 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,876,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679,422 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.