Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Posted by Brian Himes on Nov 7th, 2026

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $120.00 target price on the network equipment provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $135.00. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CSCO. Barclays increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.87.

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Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO traded down $1.87 on Thursday, reaching $93.85. The stock had a trading volume of 23,090,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,125,915. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $70.54 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.82 and a 200 day moving average of $101.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s 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 expect that Cisco Systems will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. The trade was a 0.41% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 10,991 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Grp LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Cisco Systems by 8.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 91,062 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,185 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $506,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

More Cisco Systems News

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

Positive Sentiment: Cisco was named a leader in ABI Research’s open line systems ranking for data-center interconnects, a market benefiting from AI-driven data-center expansion. Article: Ciena, Nokia, and Cisco Named Leaders in ABI Research’s Open Line Systems Ranking
Positive Sentiment: New partner and cloud offerings—including AI-focused tools and expanded partner incentives—could support recurring software and services revenue. Separately, Spectrum Business introduced a managed Cisco secure-networking service aimed at AI-oriented enterprise workloads. Article: How Investors Are Reacting To Cisco Stock After Analyst Downgrade Article: Cisco Expands Into Managed Secure Networking
Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s Q3 earnings are scheduled for November 12. Options traders are pricing in a potentially substantial move around the report, making results and guidance a near-term catalyst. Article: Cisco Set for Near 11% Move After Q3 Earnings, Say Options Traders
Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut Cisco from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered its price target from $135 to $120. The firm warned that faster AI-infrastructure growth could worsen the sales mix and pressure gross margins, weighing on earnings growth in fiscal 2028. Article: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Cisco On AI Impacting Gross Margins
Negative Sentiment: The downgrade coincided with broad selling in AI-infrastructure and networking stocks. Cisco’s shares also fell below their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that may add to investor caution. Article: Cisco Falls on Morgan Stanley Downgrade and AI Infrastructure Selloff Article: Cisco Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average

About Cisco Systems

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Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.