Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $79.05 and last traded at $80.01. Approximately 26,812,640 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 23,534,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.87.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported heavy AI infrastructure orders and raised FY2026 revenue guidance — direct upside to revenue visibility and investor sentiment around Cisco’s AI tailwind. Cisco Systems (CSCO) Valuation Check As AI Infrastructure Orders And Guidance Upgrades Gain Traction
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlight a multi-billion dollar run of AI orders (article cites ~$2.1B) — supports near-term revenue and proves Cisco’s role in AI infrastructure beyond GPU vendors. Forget Nvidia: This Networking Giant Just Landed $2.1 Billion in AI Orders
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco launched Australia’s first “Cisco Secure AI Factory” with SharonAI and NVIDIA—an example of go-to-market partnerships that can accelerate deployments and service revenue. Cisco Deepens AI And 6G Push With Secure Australia Factory
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is listed as a leader in recent email-encryption and secure-communications vendor rankings — reinforces competitive positioning in cybersecurity (an ongoing revenue driver). Email Encryption Company Evaluation Report 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market stories and sector reports note large long-term growth in unified communications and cybersecurity markets, which benefits Cisco over time but doesn’t change quarter-by-quarter fundamentals immediately. United States Unified Communications Market Report 2025-2033
• Neutral Sentiment: Transcript coverage from Cisco’s Morgan Stanley presentation is now available — useful for detail but primarily reiterates the company’s AI and product roadmap rather than surprising the market. Cisco Presents at Morgan Stanley TMT Conference — Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage in ETF/sector pieces (e.g., cybersecurity ETF stories) highlights the sector tailwind; indirect support for Cisco but not an immediate catalyst. Why Cybersecurity ETF CIBR Belongs in Every Retirement Portfolio Right Now
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds is inconsistent/erroneous (zero and NaN figures), creating confusing headlines that can spook some traders even if not economically meaningful. (Data sources show conflicting short-interest notes.)
• Negative Sentiment: Resurfaced comparisons to dot-com era behavior and skeptical investor commentary introduce headline risk and can pressure sentiment even as fundamentals improve. Why Cisco Is Nothing Like Its Dot-Com Self — And Could Hit $90 by 2027

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CSCO. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Melius Research upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $316.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $169,395.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 28,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $1,248,072.00. Following the sale, the director owned 157,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,149,807.04. This trade represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 75,677 shares of company stock valued at $5,811,211 in the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 33,666 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 12,528 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 13,656 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 24,146 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 15,042 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 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.