Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading 3.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 3.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $175.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Cisco Systems traded as high as $83.25 and last traded at $83.11. Approximately 34,870,867 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 20,050,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.64.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.38.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 163,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $12,760,942.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 281,108 shares in the company, valued at $21,887,068.88. This represents a 36.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total transaction of $22,083,731.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 820,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,316,496.45. This trade represents a 25.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $175 and kept an “outperform” rating — a very bullish analyst move that signals large upside versus the current price and likely helped lift the stock. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options flow: investors bought ~89,631 call options (≈27% above typical daily call volume), indicating short-term bullish positioning that can amplify upward price moves as traders adjust hedges or exercise exposure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco scheduled its Q2 FY2026 earnings conference call for Feb. 11 — a near-term catalyst that could further move the stock depending on results, guidance and commentary on networking and AI demand. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and analyst write-ups are proliferating (Zacks, MSN) discussing whether brokers’ positive views are warranted — this coverage can attract flows but may also increase volatility around earnings. Zacks: Is Cisco a Good Investment?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also flagged that Cisco is attracting investor attention — useful context but not new fundamental news; serves mainly to explain increased trading volume. Zacks: Attracting Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN ran a roundup of analyst views on Cisco — signals ongoing coverage but no single negative catalyst reported. MSN
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry note: a CNBC piece on rising interest in AI agents highlights secular demand for compute, networking and security — a potential tailwind for Cisco over time but not an immediate earnings driver. CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are non-informative (showing zeros/NaN) and don’t suggest a meaningful short squeeze risk at present.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 531.0% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 89.4% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 409 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 3.1%

The firm has a market cap of $328.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.83 and a 200-day moving average of $72.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.77 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.29%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.65%.

About Cisco Systems

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.