Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at KeyCorp from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CSCO. CICC Research upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.71.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $123.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $488.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $65.75 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $117.56 and its 200 day moving average is $98.72.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business 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 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The business’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 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, sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,937,315.36. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand remains a major growth catalyst. Cisco reported record fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while networking product orders increased 40%. AI infrastructure orders totaled $4 billion in the quarter and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, with management expecting approximately $7.5 billion of AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Cisco fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Results and forward guidance exceeded consensus. Adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share topped the $1.17 estimate, and revenue of $17.25 billion exceeded the $16.84 billion forecast. Cisco guided for fiscal first-quarter revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.34, well above analysts’ expectations. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $5.05 to $5.11 also surpassed consensus. Reuters Cisco forecast article
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend maintained. Cisco declared a $0.42-per-share dividend, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2, representing an indicated yield of approximately 1.4%.
• Negative Sentiment: Gross-margin pressure is the key concern. Analysts acknowledged the record results but said squeezed gross margins could limit the benefit of stronger sales. Investors may also be concerned that AI networking growth requires substantial investment and could carry lower margins than Cisco’s traditional business. MarketWatch margin concerns article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat may not have cleared an elevated bar. With CSCO trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 40 times earnings, investors appear to be demanding accelerating growth rather than merely strong results. The pullback reflects profit-taking and skepticism that the AI-driven “supercycle” can justify the stock’s premium valuation over the longer term. Barron’s Cisco AI demand article

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.