Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $85.54, but opened at $79.61. Cisco Systems shares last traded at $77.24, with a volume of 17,262,863 shares trading hands.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and full?year guide raised — Cisco reported record revenue (~$15.3B), beat top?line estimates, delivered non?GAAP EPS above consensus, and raised FY26 revenue/EPS ranges; that underpins the case for durable growth. CISCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: Robust AI demand: Cisco disclosed ~$2.1B of AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers and launched the Silicon One G300 switch silicon aimed at large AI clusters — positive for future high?margin product mix. Networking Giant Drops on Earnings: Time to Load Up on Cisco? Silicon One G300 Announcement Drives Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple firms raised price targets or reaffirmed buy ratings today (UBS to $95, Citi to $90, BNP Paribas to $87, Rosenblatt $100), signaling confidence in Cisco’s long?term AI/networking opportunity. Analyst Price Target Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital returns: Dividend increased modestly (quarterly $0.42), continuing Cisco’s shareholder?friendly profile but not a near?term catalyst versus margin concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin headwinds from memory costs — management warned that rising memory prices are pressuring gross margins, a key reason for the sharp intraday drop as investors re?price near?term profitability. Cisco stock has worst day since 2022 as memory prices pressure margins Cisco Plunges Despite Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Mediocre/uncertain near?term outlook and market reaction — guidance for the coming quarter was viewed as mixed and gross margin dynamics disappointed traders, triggering a broader tech selloff and volatility spike. Cisco Triggers Tech Selloff, VIX Spikes 16%

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CSCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Melius Research increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. HSBC raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.95.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 13.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $293.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.99.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The company had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $836,860.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 146,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $1,039,789.53. Following the sale, the director owned 61,630 shares in the company, valued at $4,753,521.90. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 holdings in Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 32.3% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,839 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.7% during the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA now owns 7,560 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during 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.