Cisco Retail Traders Stay Guarded But Analysts Tout Networking Giant’s Durable Growth Potential, Tariff Immunity

Retail sentiment toward Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) stock remained muted even as sell-side analysts became increasingly bullish on the networking giant.

On Stocktwits, retail users' mood on Cisco stock (50/100) was ‘neutral’, although this marked an improvement from the ‘bearish’ mood that prevailed a day ago and in the previous week.

The message volume on the Cisco stream was also ‘normal.’

The muted outlook came despite recent positive headlines. On Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold,’ with the price target revised upward to $73 from $65.

The Fly reported that analysts at the firm see improved visibility toward “durable” mid-single-digit growth in the upcoming years. The growth is underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI) tailwinds, a Campus portfolio refresh, more favorable near-term competitive dynamics in Networking and improved scale in Security, the analysts said.

They also expect the incremental growth in higher-margin revenues and the breadth of the company's supply chain to help it "deftly navigate" incremental tariffs and reinvest in growth.

Deutsche Bank sees Cisco’s "significant" free cash flow generation supporting incremental cash returns to shareholders via buybacks and dividend growth.

Last Friday, Goldman Sachs raised its price target for the stock to $67 from $63 but maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating. 

The firm expects Cisco's recently announced enterprise-oriented networking solutions to strengthen its long-term position within the campus networking refresh opportunities. 

At the same time, analysts at the firm believe that it may take some time for these new products to ramp up and see customer adoption.

A retail watcher on Stocktwits flagged Cisco stock as an opportunity following Deutsche Bank’s upgrade.

But another user suggested it was time to buy some puts on Cisco stock, positioning for downside from current levels.

Cisco Systems stock ended Monday’s session up 2.22% at $65.51, with year-to-date gains of 12%.

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