Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

CSCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $112.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.48. Cisco Systems has a fifty-two week low of $65.75 and a fifty-two week high of $130.37. The firm has a market cap of $444.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.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 business 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 69,179 shares of company stock valued at $7,985,229 over the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,129,647,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth $5,892,379,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth $4,714,574,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record quarterly revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while earnings per share of $1.22 exceeded the $1.17 consensus estimate. Management also issued an optimistic fiscal 2027 EPS outlook of $5.05 to $5.11, reinforcing the company’s AI-networking growth story. What Kept Coming Up When Analysts Grilled CSCO
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts viewed the post-earnings selloff as an overreaction, citing Cisco’s strong execution and improving opportunity in AI infrastructure. Wells Fargo also raised its price target to $150 and maintained an overweight rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a target near $129.43. Cisco Selloff Looks Like an Overreaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Higher hardware prices and a heavier product mix helped accelerate revenue, but rising memory costs and the larger hardware contribution pressured product margins. Investors are watching whether Cisco can continue passing costs to customers without weakening demand. Cisco Grew Faster by Selling Hardware and Charging More for It
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC cut Cisco Systems to a Hold rating, adding to concerns about valuation and the durability of the recent growth acceleration. Cisco Systems Cut to Hold at HSBC
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins and three other insiders sold a combined 48,045 shares for approximately $4.25 million. The transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and the executives retained substantial positions, making this a modest negative signal rather than clear evidence of deteriorating business expectations. Cisco Insider Buying and Selling

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.