Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.98% from the stock’s previous close.

CSCO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research lowered Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.71.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $123.88 on Thursday. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $65.75 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $488.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total transaction of $316,438.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 180,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,730,312.97. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the first quarter worth about $27,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand remains a major growth catalyst. Cisco reported record fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while networking product orders increased 40%. AI infrastructure orders totaled $4 billion in the quarter and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, with management expecting approximately $7.5 billion of AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Cisco fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Results and forward guidance exceeded consensus. Adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share topped the $1.17 estimate, and revenue of $17.25 billion exceeded the $16.84 billion forecast. Cisco guided for fiscal first-quarter revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.34, well above analysts’ expectations. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $5.05 to $5.11 also surpassed consensus. Reuters Cisco forecast article
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend maintained. Cisco declared a $0.42-per-share dividend, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2, representing an indicated yield of approximately 1.4%.
• Negative Sentiment: Gross-margin pressure is the key concern. Analysts acknowledged the record results but said squeezed gross margins could limit the benefit of stronger sales. Investors may also be concerned that AI networking growth requires substantial investment and could carry lower margins than Cisco’s traditional business. MarketWatch margin concerns article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat may not have cleared an elevated bar. With CSCO trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 40 times earnings, investors appear to be demanding accelerating growth rather than merely strong results. The pullback reflects profit-taking and skepticism that the AI-driven “supercycle” can justify the stock’s premium valuation over the longer term. Barron’s Cisco AI demand article

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.