Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 4.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) traded up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $118.40 and last traded at $117.94. 20,939,342 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 22,576,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.82.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI networking demand is supporting Cisco, alongside gains in Arista Networks and Ciena. Investors appear to view Cisco as a beneficiary of rising spending on data-center connectivity and infrastructure required for artificial intelligence. Arista Networks Advances 4% While Ciena Soars 11% on AI Networking Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Cisco’s sovereign-AI strategy highlights the company’s opportunity to provide networking, security and infrastructure for governments and organizations seeking greater control over AI systems and data. How to Play CSCO Stock as Cisco Bets on Sovereign AI
• Positive Sentiment: Webex is expanding into governed client communications through a LeapXpert integration that lets enterprise users message customers on WhatsApp while maintaining compliance controls and conversation archiving. The move could strengthen Cisco’s collaboration offering and support recurring software revenue. Cisco’s Collaboration Unit Adds WhatsApp to Webex
• Positive Sentiment: Quantum XChange joined Cisco’s networking marketplace as a technology partner, adding FIPS-validated post-quantum cryptography and quantum-safe security capabilities to Cisco networks. This enhances Cisco’s cybersecurity value proposition. Quantum XChange Joins the Cisco Networking App Marketplace
• Neutral Sentiment: A market report projects rapid growth in hybrid IT management, AIOps and cloud services, areas where Cisco participates with Dell, Oracle, ServiceNow and Datadog. The report indicates favorable industry demand but is not a Cisco-specific financial update. Hybrid Information Technology Management Market Global Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s sustainability team said customers are increasingly using environmental data in purchasing decisions. The discussion may support Cisco’s enterprise positioning, but it provided no new earnings or guidance. Cisco: How Sustainability Data Is Informing Customer Decisions
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Steve Weiss disclosed selling his Cisco position as rising Treasury yields made him more cautious about technology valuations. This is an individual portfolio decision rather than a change in Cisco’s fundamentals, but it may weigh on sentiment. Analyst Sells Cisco Amid Rising Yields

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CSCO. Truist Financial raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 4.5%

The company has a market cap of $464.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during 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%.Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $650,093.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 trade represents 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 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,609,227,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224,062 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,876,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679,422 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 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.