Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price was up 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $114.57 and last traded at $114.17. Approximately 18,039,647 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 23,687,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.76.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco announced a new partnership with Tech Mahindra to launch an AI-driven Security Service Edge offering for global enterprises, which could strengthen Cisco’s security portfolio and add to future enterprise demand. Tech Mahindra and Cisco Partner to Bring AI-Driven Security Service Edge to Global Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage have highlighted Cisco after an upgrade, helping sentiment around the stock and suggesting investors see room for more upside ahead of earnings. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is also drawing attention ahead of its quarterly results, with preview coverage pointing to expected double-digit bottom-line growth, which can keep investors focused on earnings momentum. Cisco Systems’ Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Yahoo Finance articles referenced Cisco as a cautionary example from the dot-com era while discussing growth stocks, but these pieces were about other companies and did not provide new company-specific news for Cisco. 2 Growth Stocks with All-Star Potential and 1 We Find Risky
• Neutral Sentiment: More analyst commentary compared Cisco’s valuation to its recent partnership-driven momentum, suggesting the stock may already reflect some good news rather than signaling a clear new catalyst. Has Cisco Systems (CSCO) Run Ahead Of Fair Value Following Its Webex Contact Center Deal?
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco AI security research showed multi-turn attacks can defeat many models, reinforcing Cisco’s credibility in AI security, though the article was more industry-focused than a direct financial catalyst. Multi-turn attacks broke AI models 88% of the time — single-turn testing missed it, Cisco AI security lead warns at VB Transform 2026

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. CICC Research lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citic Securities increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $117.96 and its 200 day moving average is $94.56. The stock has a market cap of $449.99 billion, a PE ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total value of $316,438.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 180,877 shares in the company, valued at $20,730,312.97. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 198,549 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $13,905,000 after buying an additional 26,455 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 101.8% in the fourth quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,306 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $8,266,000 after acquiring an additional 54,141 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 200,341 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,432,000 after acquiring an additional 64,144 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,311,098 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $332,084,000 after acquiring an additional 275,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,873,274 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $375,388,000 after acquiring an additional 151,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.