Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 8.4% – Here’s What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares were down 8.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $111.48 and last traded at $113.47. 61,115,994 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 157% from the average daily volume of 23,772,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.88.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $1.22 surpassed the $1.17 consensus estimate. Networking revenue and product orders were strong, supported by AI infrastructure, data-center switching and campus demand. Cisco’s Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Strong Networking Aids Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal 2027 revenue of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $5.05 to $5.11, above Wall Street expectations. Cisco also expects $7.5 billion of AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027, following $9.3 billion of AI orders in fiscal 2026. Cisco Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their price targets after the report, including Wells Fargo to $150, Rosenblatt to $165 and Truist to $140, indicating that longer-term analysts remain constructive on Cisco’s AI networking opportunity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2. The dividend provides ongoing income support but was not the primary market catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat failed to clear an exceptionally high investor bar after CSCO’s strong 2026 rally. Analysts described the outlook as potentially conservative relative to current demand, while investors questioned how long AI-related growth can accelerate at the required pace. Cisco shares slide despite earnings beat and stronger-than-expected guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Gross-margin concerns weighed on the stock. Cisco’s AI networking expansion may pressure profitability through product mix, pricing and investment requirements; reports also cited weaker-than-expected services revenue. These concerns are particularly important given CSCO’s elevated valuation.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.24.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.56 and a 200 day moving average of $98.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of Cisco Systems 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 owned 180,877 shares in the company, valued at $20,730,312.97. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.7% during the second quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 404,541 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $47,517,000 after purchasing an additional 6,568 shares during the last quarter. Satovsky Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Satovsky Asset Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 232.3% during the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,077,745 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $126,592,000 after acquiring an additional 753,380 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1,395.7% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,063,689 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $124,941,000 after acquiring an additional 992,573 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 128,272 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,067,000 after purchasing an additional 30,093 shares during the period. 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 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.