Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Down 1.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 16th, 2026

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report)’s stock price was down 1.6% during trading on Friday after HSBC downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. HSBC now has a $120.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $137.00. Cisco Systems traded as low as $110.06 and last traded at $111.68. 29,341,910 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 23,770,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.47.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.43.

View Our Latest Research Report on Cisco Systems

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,920,694.24. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

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

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The company’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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given 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 is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.