Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 2.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price was up 2.8% during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $116.00 to $125.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Cisco Systems traded as high as $130.37 and last traded at $130.00. Approximately 23,250,590 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 23,691,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.50.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $91.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,937,315.36. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,324 shares of company stock valued at $5,559,834. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI platform and cybersecurity rollout is strengthening the bull case, with new products aimed at secure AI infrastructure and ransomware defense. Cisco’s AI Platforms And Cybersecurity Push Test Valuation For Investors
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC previously upgraded Cisco on surging AI infrastructure demand, suggesting the company’s growth profile is improving as AI spending expands. HSBC Upgrades Cisco Systems (CSCO) on Surging AI Infrastructure Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s recent earnings beat and raised guidance are still helping sentiment, as the company reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS and lifted its AI infrastructure orders target. Cisco Systems (CSCO) Is Up 8.2% After Record AI-Focused Quarter And New Cloud Control Platform – Has The Bull Case Changed?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs kept a Hold/Neutral view and raised its price target, signaling limited near-term upside in its view despite better fundamentals. Goldman Sachs Remains a Hold on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating, adding to the overall positive analyst backdrop but not changing the story materially on its own. Morgan Stanley Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco was mentioned in broader market commentary on semiconductor and AI spending, which supports the sector narrative but is not company-specific. Strategist Defends Semiconductor Rally Despite Bubble Fears

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,256,144,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874,407 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,259,369,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,876,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679,422 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $512.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.01. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $96.27 and a 200 day moving average of $84.33.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its 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 return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Cisco Systems’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, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

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.