Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price traded down 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $77.72 and last traded at $78.0950. 19,587,142 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 23,982,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.12.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s President and Chief Product Officer highlighted that Cisco already has a product written entirely with AI and said the company expects multiple AI-only products by end of 2026 — a clear positive for growth expectations and revenue-facing AI narrative. Cisco President Says AI Agents Need To Get The Background Checks Done — Yet Predicts 6 Products ‘Written With AI Only’ By The End Of 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco appears in recent dividend-stock roundups, reinforcing appeal to income-focused investors given Cisco’s yield and long-term cash generation. That can support demand from dividend investors. Got $10,000? Put It in These Dividend Stocks Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco will participate in multiple March investor events — increased access to management can reduce uncertainty and provide fresh guidance, but impact depends on messaging. Cisco to Participate in March 2026 Events with the Financial Community
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/blog attention is elevated (Zacks notes CSCO as a trending stock) and valuation pieces are circulating; this drives trading interest but not a clear directional catalyst on its own. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage questioning whether Cisco is fairly priced after multi‑year gains may increase volatility as investors reassess valuation vs. growth prospects. Is Cisco Systems (CSCO) Fairly Priced After Strong Multi‑Year Share Price Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed is anomalous (shows zero), so it’s not providing a reliable signal to the market today.
• Negative Sentiment: Cisco disclosed that a critical bug in a widely used networking product has been exploited by hackers since 2023; government action and remediation costs or reputation damage could pressure the stock. Cisco says hackers have been exploiting a critical bug to break into big customer networks since 2023
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile commentary comparing past Cisco market dynamics to current sector froth (Michael Burry pieces linking Cisco’s dot‑com era dynamics to today’s AI winners) can stoke caution among momentum traders and raise reputation/valuation concerns by association. ‘This is Not Business as Usual. This is Risk’: Michael Burry Warns Nvidia Looks Strikingly Similar to Cisco Just Prior to Dot Com Bubble Crash

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. President Capital decreased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $313.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.87. 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 50 day simple moving average of $77.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.71.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total transaction of $169,395.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $1,039,789.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,753,521.90. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 75,677 shares of company stock worth $5,811,211 in the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 420,336 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,163,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,189,645 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $218,236,000 after acquiring an additional 205,043 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,563,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 686,469 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $46,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56,057 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Cisco Systems by 213.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 20,497 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 13,966 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.