Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price shot up 1% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $112.70 and last traded at $111.38. 14,108,429 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 22,025,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.24.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI growth narrative remains supportive. Management is emphasizing AI-agent safety, cybersecurity and quantum-safe technology, while the company has open-sourced Project Quarry to help detect rogue AI agents. These initiatives could strengthen Cisco’s position as AI infrastructure adoption increases. What Is Cisco Signaling With Its AI Security And Quantum Safe Push? Cisco Open Sources Project Quarry to Detect Rogue AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Logicalis US was named Cisco’s Managed Services Partner of the Year for the Americas for the third consecutive year. The recognition highlights partner demand for Cisco’s networking and managed-service offerings, although it is not a direct financial forecast. Logicalis US Named Managed Services Partner of the Year
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive ahead of Cisco’s earnings report, with a reported consensus price target of $128.52 and expectations that the company can continue benefiting from AI-related infrastructure spending. Cisco Consensus Price Target Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Cisco’s Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is focused on the broader AI infrastructure trade, including networking equipment, optics and servers. Cisco may benefit from this spending, but the comparison also underscores intense competition and elevated expectations across the sector. Three AI Infrastructure Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs were reported as net sellers of Cisco stock, creating near-term technical pressure independent of the company’s operating outlook. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Cisco
• Negative Sentiment: With Cisco trading at a relatively demanding earnings multiple after a strong year-to-date advance, investors may be looking for sizable earnings beats or stronger guidance. Any disappointment in the upcoming report could prompt profit-taking.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CSCO. HSBC downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.68.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,103,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,106 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at $4,714,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability solutions for businesses, government organizations and service providers. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data-center infrastructure, security software and services, as well as technologies that support cloud and hybrid IT environments.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex portfolio, cloud-managed networking through Cisco Meraki and security and observability capabilities that include technologies from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.