BNP Paribas Exane Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price objective upped by research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $86.00 to $87.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.01% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.73.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO stock opened at $78.37 on Thursday. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $52.11 and a 1-year high of $88.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $309.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $77.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.99.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The company had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 164,584 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total transaction of $12,812,864.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,316,053.30. The trade was a 45.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total value of $22,083,731.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 820,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,316,496.45. This trade represents a 25.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,274 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $360,000. WealthSpring Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $714,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 113,404 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 9,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q2 revenue and beat on non‑GAAP EPS with raised full‑year guidance — Cisco reported ~$15.3B revenue and non‑GAAP EPS of $1.04, and raised FY26 revenue guidance to $61.2–$61.7B and non‑GAAP EPS to $4.13–$4.17, giving a clear demand signal (AI/hyperscaler strength). PR Newswire: Cisco Reports Second Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: New AI networking silicon — Cisco unveiled the Silicon One G300 (102.4Tbps) aimed at large AI clusters, positioning CSCO to capture infrastructure spending from hyperscalers and compete with Broadcom/Nvidia. This product announcement supports the revenue/AI narrative. InsiderMonkey: Silicon One G300 Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend rise — Cisco increased its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (2% raise), supporting the income-investor case and total‑return thesis. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Rosenblatt reaffirmed a “buy” and $100 PT, reflecting continued analyst optimism and potential upside vs. current levels. Benzinga: Rosenblatt Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Trade/tariff policy update — U.S. House moved to block tariffs on Canada; reduced trade-policy uncertainty could be modestly positive for tech supply chains but the direct impact on Cisco’s near-term results is unclear. YouTube: Canada Tariffs Override
• Negative Sentiment: Margin concerns from higher memory costs — Several outlets flagged that rising memory prices are pressuring gross margins; Cisco reported GAAP gross margin below some estimates and commentary on component cost pressure weighed on the stock. MSN: Memory Costs Pressure Margins
• Negative Sentiment: Mood mismatch — Despite beats and an upgraded full‑year outlook, investors reacted negatively to guidance that many saw as only in‑line (or conservative on margins), driving post‑close and premarket selling. Coverage notes and market commentary highlight the selloff. CNBC: Stock Drops on Forecast Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Headline focus on gross‑margin metrics and cash‑flow/chip-costs — Media reports emphasizing below‑estimate gross margin and memory‑cost headwinds amplified selling despite top‑line momentum. MarketWatch: Investors Pan Earnings

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.