Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares were up 1.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $121.43 and last traded at $120.42. Approximately 41,589,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 77% from the average daily volume of 23,546,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.64.

Key Stories Impacting 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 reiterated a Buy rating, citing stronger demand for high-speed optical networking gear tied to AI infrastructure spending. BofA raises Cisco, Ciena targets as AI optics boom accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also lifted its price target on Cisco to $150 from $100 and kept a Buy rating after Cisco’s latest quarterly results, reinforcing optimism around earnings and guidance. Rosenblatt Raises its Price Target on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to frame Cisco as a beneficiary of AI-driven networking and security spending, with multiple stories highlighting record results and strong momentum. AI Buildout Fuels Record Results for These Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco joined the EnterpriseClaw AI automation platform alongside NVIDIA, Okta, and OpenAI, reinforcing its security and AI relevance in enterprise workflows. Cisco Joins EnterpriseClaw To Link AI Automation With Security And Valuation Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces are highlighting Cisco as a “throwback” tech stock that still fits into the AI trade, but these articles are mostly market commentary rather than new fundamentals. Dell, Cisco: How ‘throwback’ tech stocks fit into the AI trade
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which is notable but does not necessarily point to changing fundamentals. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media reports continue to note that Cisco has outperformed the broader technology sector, but that view largely reflects recent price strength already in place. Cisco Systems Stock: Is CSCO Outperforming the Technology Sector?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.5%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.10, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,937,315.36. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 51,324 shares of company stock worth $5,559,834 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 75.4% in the 1st quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 51,806 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 22,270 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 17,752 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 4,629 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 167,443 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,992,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.