Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading 3.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shot up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock from an in-line rating to an outperform rating. Evercore ISI now has a $100.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $80.00. Cisco Systems traded as high as $77.42 and last traded at $77.01. 24,567,544 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 18,691,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.59.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CSCO. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Melius Research increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with 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 an average price target of $86.81.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.33, for a total transaction of $34,381.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,698.08. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $138,657.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 176,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,010,307.74. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded CSCO from “in-line” to “outperform” and raised its price target to $100 (from $80), implying roughly 30% upside; Evercore cited AI revenue potential as a driver. Cisco rises after rating upgrade at Evercore
• Positive Sentiment: Headline coverage frames the Evercore move as a meaningful re?rating and calls Cisco a “big?cap bargain,” helping push sentiment and demand into the stock. Cisco stock rises on upgrade. It’s a big-cap bargain, analyst says.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts are lifting price targets and coverage (TipRanks roundup), reinforcing the momentum from the Evercore call and supporting analyst?driven buying interest. Cisco Systems Trending as Analysts Lift Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco published new AI?era initiatives: the Cisco 360 Partner Program (to accelerate AI outcomes with partners) and a report showing robust enterprise investment in privacy/governance for AI — both strengthen Cisco’s go?to?market narrative around AI and services. Cisco Launches New Cisco 360 Partner Program, Built with Partners for the AI Era
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market research?call roundups (24/7 Wall St.) list Cisco among notable analyst actions today — useful for context but less directly catalytic than the Evercore upgrade or company product announcements. Here Are Monday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 21.1% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 3.2%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.62 and its 200 day moving average is $71.78. The company has a market cap of $304.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.29%. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.65%.

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.