Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Jumps 3% – What’s Next?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 3% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $118.65 and last traded at $118.39. Approximately 11,323,404 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 22,441,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.89.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlight Cisco’s positioning as a leader in AI cloud networking. Demand from hyperscalers and AI-related infrastructure spending could support sustained revenue growth, while management’s fiscal 2027 guidance reinforces the company’s growth outlook. Buy Cisco Systems as Leader of the AI Cloud Networking Space for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with revenue rising 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. This marked the company’s fifth consecutive earnings beat and has supported momentum in the stock. Cisco Could Be Entering a New Growth Phase
• Positive Sentiment: New agentic AI products across Webex, workplace automation and customer experience, along with Google Meet compatibility and RoomOS 27, expand Cisco’s software and collaboration opportunity. A post-quantum security application also strengthens its cybersecurity offering. Cisco unveils agentic AI tools
• Positive Sentiment: The average brokerage recommendation remains favorable, providing additional support for investor sentiment, although analyst ratings can be biased toward optimistic recommendations. Is Cisco a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Neutral Sentiment: Product revenue surged to $13.459 billion from $10.886 billion, driving the quarterly acceleration. However, services revenue was nearly flat at $3.793 billion versus $3.787 billion, meaning current growth is concentrated in hardware and AI infrastructure rather than recurring services. Cisco’s Product Sales Surged. Why Were Services Almost Flat?
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong year-to-date rally, recent momentum cooled and Cisco briefly underperformed the broader market. Investors are questioning whether the AI opportunity is already reflected in the valuation, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 35. Cisco Systems Dropped, So What Is Behind the Latest Attention?
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors reacted cautiously to Webex agent functionality and collaboration updates, while the limited services growth raises questions about the durability and quality of Cisco’s revenue expansion. Cisco Stocks Slip as Webex Agents Keep Working After Calls

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Freedom Capital upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. HSBC cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 3.0%

The stock has a market cap of $466.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company 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 firm posted $0.99 EPS. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,382 shares in the company, valued at $14,310,741.54. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. The trade was a 3.74% 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 have sold a total of 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 27.2% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 78,397 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,438,000 after buying an additional 24,287 shares in the last quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,172,000. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 81.3% in the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 7,610 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.