Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Price Target Raised to $135.00 at Morgan Stanley

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.38.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $123.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $488.27 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.72. Cisco Systems has a 52-week low of $65.75 and a 52-week high of $130.37.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company 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 research analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,469,312.55. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 24,562 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 590,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand remains a major growth catalyst. Cisco reported record fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while networking product orders increased 40%. AI infrastructure orders totaled $4 billion in the quarter and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, with management expecting approximately $7.5 billion of AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Cisco fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Results and forward guidance exceeded consensus. Adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share topped the $1.17 estimate, and revenue of $17.25 billion exceeded the $16.84 billion forecast. Cisco guided for fiscal first-quarter revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.34, well above analysts’ expectations. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $5.05 to $5.11 also surpassed consensus. Reuters Cisco forecast article
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend maintained. Cisco declared a $0.42-per-share dividend, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2, representing an indicated yield of approximately 1.4%.
• Negative Sentiment: Gross-margin pressure is the key concern. Analysts acknowledged the record results but said squeezed gross margins could limit the benefit of stronger sales. Investors may also be concerned that AI networking growth requires substantial investment and could carry lower margins than Cisco’s traditional business. MarketWatch margin concerns article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat may not have cleared an elevated bar. With CSCO trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 40 times earnings, investors appear to be demanding accelerating growth rather than merely strong results. The pullback reflects profit-taking and skepticism that the AI-driven “supercycle” can justify the stock’s premium valuation over the longer term. Barron’s Cisco AI demand article

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.