Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Down 2.3% – Here’s Why

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $81.14 and last traded at $81.16. 39,583,757 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the average session volume of 20,994,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.11.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI sharply raised its price target on CSCO to $175 from $100 and kept an “outperform” rating — a very bullish read on long?term upside that can drive investor re?rating and institutional interest. Evercore Raises Price Target to $175
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: investors bought roughly 89,631 call options (about 27% above normal daily call volume), indicating short?term bullish positioning and speculative interest in further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco presented at its second annual AI Summit (prepared remarks published), reinforcing product roadmaps around AI networking and go?to?market execution — important for revenue cadence and investor confidence. AI Summit Remarks Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is linking its AI networking push to renewable?powered data centers, a strategic positioning that targets large, energy?aware AI customers and supports long?term demand for high?margin networking and infrastructure products. Cisco Ties AI Networking to Renewable Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary notes Cisco recently hit new all?time highs and prompts buy/sell debate — momentum has attracted attention from momentum and value investors alike. Cisco Hits New All?Time Highs
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short?interest data shows zero shares — likely a data or reporting anomaly; it does not indicate a material short position change and should be treated cautiously.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst/coverage stories and summaries (Zacks, MSN) provide context on broker sentiment and valuation but contain mixed views that mostly reiterate recent upgrades and strategy commentary. Zacks Analyst Coverage Summary MSN Analyst Roundup

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CSCO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.38.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 2.3%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.34. The stock has a market cap of $320.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.93 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 for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 61.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 56,038 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $4,389,456.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 179,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,082,167.40. This represents a 23.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 164,584 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total value of $12,812,864.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 196,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,316,053.30. This represents a 45.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 194,695,250 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,507,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,872 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,252,395 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,864,058,000 after buying an additional 1,157,704 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $3,816,825,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,668,182,000 after buying an additional 5,081,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.