Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 1% – Here’s Why

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares traded up 1% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $109.08 and last traded at $108.76. Approximately 12,611,487 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 22,604,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.63.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand and earnings momentum: Cisco reportedly delivered its fifth consecutive earnings beat, while AI-infrastructure orders accumulated faster than Wall Street expected. Its latest quarter also showed revenue growth of 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion and EPS of $1.22, above the $1.17 consensus. The stock remains below its 52-week high, giving investors potential recovery upside. The Boring Tech Stock With an AI Tailwind Has 17% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Sovereign AI expansion: Cisco and Bell Canada agreed to collaborate on a Canadian sovereign-AI infrastructure platform using Cisco networking, security, observability and critical-infrastructure technologies. The arrangement could strengthen Cisco’s position in regulated markets requiring domestic data residency and control. Bell Canada Cisco Ink MoU
• Positive Sentiment: Income support: Cisco is scheduled to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share on October 21, supporting its appeal to dividend-focused investors while the company participates in AI networking growth. Cisco Quarterly Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity market opportunity: The industrial-control-system security market is projected to expand from $17.91 billion in 2026 to $38.48 billion by 2031, potentially benefiting Cisco’s security business alongside Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. Industrial Control System Security Market Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and valuation caution: Bernstein initiated coverage at “market perform” with a $110 target, while Piper Sandler lowered its target to $125. Cisco trades at a premium earnings multiple, and analysts note that AI represented only about 6% of fiscal 2026 revenue; growth in its broader networking and security businesses must continue to justify the valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: Commentary highlighted potential pressure from cheaper Chinese competitors and open-weight AI models, while reported demand and operational alerts do not necessarily translate into booked platform revenue.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. 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 report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, HSBC downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.0%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $428.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.00.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,638,447.48. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at $67,226,273.40. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Cisco Systems by 7.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after buying an additional 13,512,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 worth $5,103,654,000 after buying an additional 1,143,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $4,714,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco’s portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.