Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $112.20 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 stock has a market capitalization of $442.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $66.81 and a 1-year high of $130.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.64.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,226,273.40. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after buying an additional 13,512,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,103,654,000 after buying an additional 1,143,106 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $4,714,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “strong buy,” providing a notable near-term sentiment boost. Investors Heavily Search Cisco Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is scheduled to distribute approximately $1.66 billion in dividends on October 21. The payout reinforces the company’s shareholder-return appeal and may support demand for the stock. Cisco Dividend Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI infrastructure momentum remains a key catalyst: product orders increased 35% year over year in fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, while AI infrastructure orders reportedly exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company also announced a sovereign AI infrastructure partnership with Bell Canada, potentially expanding its networking, security and observability products in regulated markets. Bell Cisco Sovereign AI Pact
• Positive Sentiment: The industrial-control-system security market is projected to grow at a 16.5% annual rate through 2031, creating a favorable backdrop for Cisco’s cybersecurity business. Industrial Control System Security Market Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating, suggesting balanced expectations despite Cisco’s AI opportunity. Bernstein Cisco Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $125, indicating reduced upside expectations. Management’s cautious fiscal 2027 AI revenue outlook and the fact that AI represented only about 6% of fiscal 2026 revenue also highlight execution and valuation risks. Piper Sandler Cisco Price Target

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco’s portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.