Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 3.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 3.1% during trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $175.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Cisco Systems traded as high as $83.25 and last traded at $83.11. Approximately 34,870,867 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 20,050,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.64.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on CSCO. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, President Capital cut their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.33, for a total transaction of $34,381.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,698.08. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $836,860.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 146,368 shares in the company, valued at $11,289,363.84. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $175 and kept an “outperform” rating — a very bullish analyst move that signals large upside versus the current price and likely helped lift the stock. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options flow: investors bought ~89,631 call options (≈27% above typical daily call volume), indicating short-term bullish positioning that can amplify upward price moves as traders adjust hedges or exercise exposure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco scheduled its Q2 FY2026 earnings conference call for Feb. 11 — a near-term catalyst that could further move the stock depending on results, guidance and commentary on networking and AI demand. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and analyst write-ups are proliferating (Zacks, MSN) discussing whether brokers’ positive views are warranted — this coverage can attract flows but may also increase volatility around earnings. Zacks: Is Cisco a Good Investment?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also flagged that Cisco is attracting investor attention — useful context but not new fundamental news; serves mainly to explain increased trading volume. Zacks: Attracting Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN ran a roundup of analyst views on Cisco — signals ongoing coverage but no single negative catalyst reported. MSN
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry note: a CNBC piece on rising interest in AI agents highlights secular demand for compute, networking and security — a potential tailwind for Cisco over time but not an immediate earnings driver. CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are non-informative (showing zeros/NaN) and don’t suggest a meaningful short squeeze risk at present.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in Cisco Systems by 531.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Cisco Systems by 89.4% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 409 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 96.2% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $328.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.24.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.65%.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.