Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $100.00 target price on the network equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $80.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CSCO. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. CICC Research raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.81.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $78.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.97. Cisco Systems has a fifty-two week low of $52.11 and a fifty-two week high of $80.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.33, for a total value of $34,381.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,698.08. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 146,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,289,363.84. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $29,163,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,563,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Cisco Systems by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,189,645 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $218,236,000 after buying an additional 205,043 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.0% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 144,336 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,875,000 after acquiring an additional 14,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades pushed optimism — Evercore ISI raised CSCO to “Outperform” and Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong-Buy,” prompting buy-side attention and short-term buying. Evercore ISI Upgrade Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the upgrades: coverage noted CSCO trading up following analyst action, reinforcing the short-term lift from broker sentiment. Trading Up After Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Local deals and product relevance stories (e.g., Georgetown’s Wi‑Fi 7 overhaul using Cisco gear) highlight demand for Cisco networking in campus/AI-edge projects — supportive for long-term revenue but not an immediate catalyst. Georgetown Wi‑Fi 7 Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Contributor piece and analyst roundup coverage (Wall Street calls, “moderate buy” consensus articles) are adding attention but contain mixed views — useful context but not decisive by itself. Analyst Calls Roundup Analyst Consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data looks anomalous (entries show 0 shares and NaN changes); this appears to be a data error and is unlikely to be a real market-moving factor today.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Chuck Robbins warned of potential “AI carnage” where winners and losers emerge as AI spending evolves — comments add caution about future demand concentration and execution risk. Robbins AI Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets (e.g., a Forbes analysis) argue CSCO could face downside and even suggest selling — such bearish takes can pressure sentiment among retail and momentum traders. Forbes Sell Thesis

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.