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

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $112.19 and last traded at $111.04. Approximately 18,385,650 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 23,605,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.59.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure orders are supporting Cisco’s growth outlook. Cisco reportedly received approximately $4 billion in AI infrastructure orders during the quarter. Product revenue rose 24% year over year, helping produce record fiscal 2026 results and reinforcing the company’s position as a supplier of networking equipment for AI data centers. Cisco Stock: Buy or Sell?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable. Recent research updates raised several price targets, including targets of $135 from Morgan Stanley, $140 from Truist Financial, $150 from Bank of America and $165 from Rosenblatt Securities. Cisco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” suggesting analysts see additional upside if AI-networking demand translates into sustained earnings growth. Cisco Systems Receives a Rating Update
• Positive Sentiment: Streaming infrastructure may provide another growth opportunity. Rising demand for low-latency live video, expanded content-delivery capacity and AI-enabled media workflows could increase demand for Cisco’s networking products among streaming platforms, enterprises and cloud providers. What Could Cisco Systems Gain From The Streaming Infrastructure Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive sold 5,832 shares valued at approximately $650,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transaction reduced the executive’s holdings by 4.35%, but the scheduled nature of the sale and substantial remaining ownership lessen its significance as a bearish signal. Cisco Executive SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks remain. With Cisco trading at more than 32 times earnings, investors may be concerned that margin pressure, slower recurring-revenue growth or delays in converting AI orders into profits could limit near-term upside.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CSCO. Citic Securities raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.24. The firm has a market cap of $437.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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, analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,611 shares of company stock valued at $6,066,680. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.