Six Firms Just Piled Into Cisco: Wall Street Rushes to Hike Price Targets After 20% Earnings Pop

Six large Wall Street firms hiked their terms targets connected Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) connected May 14, pursuing a blowout fiscal Q3 2026 study that sent shares surging astir 19% aft the close. The coordinated question of revisions reflects a wide thesis shift: Cisco's accelerating hyperscaler bid publication has decisively answered the long-running carnivore lawsuit that the institution was losing AI networking share. For prudent investors, the magnitude of the upward revisions signals cardinal exemplary changes, not insignificant tweaks.

The popular reflects much than a azygous beat. Cisco delivered grounds gross of $15.84 billion, up 12% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth (YoY), with full merchandise orders accelerating 35% YoY. Management raised fiscal 2026 AI infrastructure orders guidance to $9 cardinal from $5 billion.

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The Six Price Target Hikes

The Analyst Case

Piper Sandler called it "one of its champion quarters successful rather immoderate time," portion Citi framed the study arsenic a "beat and raise" driven by broad-based networking demand. Bank of America flagged that Cisco's Q4 gross maturation guidance was astir treble Street expectations of 8%, citing hyperscaler demand, a field refresh cycle, pricing, and endeavor AI spend.

KeyBanc highlighted accelerating bid maturation and a bull lawsuit for accelerating gross maturation successful 2027. Both Bank of America and Citi emphasized that Cisco is little proviso constrained than peers acknowledgment to its in-house silicon design, a meaningful structural vantage successful choky AI hardware markets.