Cisco Stock (CSCO) Tests $80 Resistance as AI Demand Surges: Latest News, Analyst Ratings and Price Forecasts

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) remains firmly in the market spotlight on December 9, 2025, as its share price pushes up against the psychologically important $80 resistance level while Wall Street continues to re-rate the networking giant on the back of strong AI-related demand.

As of late trading on Tuesday, Cisco stock trades around $79.70, up roughly 1.1% on the day, after opening near $78.79 and touching an intraday high of $79.88. The move extends a powerful rally that has left CSCO up about 38% year-to-date in 2025, outpacing the broader S&P 500. ^[1]

Below is a detailed, news-driven breakdown of Cisco’s latest stock news, institutional flows, earnings story, analyst targets and short‑term forecasts as of 9 December 2025.

Cisco Stock Today: Testing the $80 Ceiling

Technical analysts are closely watching CSCO’s attempt to break and hold above $80, a level that also roughly matches the stock’s recent 52‑week high near $80.06. ^[2]

A fresh technical note from Economies.com on December 9 describes Cisco as sitting in a short‑term ascending trend, supported by:

Trading above its 50‑day simple moving average
A rising trendline underneath price
Improving momentum after the RSI recently worked off oversold conditions

The analysis labels today’s setup as “bullish,” suggesting that a decisive move above $80 could open the way toward a next resistance target around $85. ^[3]

From a trend‑following perspective, independent technical service StockInvest also upgraded Cisco to a “Strong Buy candidate” on December 8. The firm notes that CSCO has risen in 8 of the last 10 trading days with strong volume and sits in the middle of a “strong rising trend.” Their model projects potential upside of about 18% over the next three months, with a statistically derived range between roughly $88 and $95 if the trend continues. ^[4]

Fresh December 9 News: Institutions Keep Buying Cisco

One of the most notable developments today (09.12.2025) is continued evidence that large institutional investors are adding to Cisco, even after its big 2025 run.

State Street Corp boosts its multi‑billion dollar stake

A MarketBeat regulatory‑filing summary published December 9 reports that State Street Corp increased its holdings in CSCO by about 0.6% in Q2, bringing its position to roughly 194.7 million shares, or about 4.92% of the company, valued at more than $13.5 billion at the time of the filing. ^[5]

Axa S.A. lifts its position by 10%

In a separate article also dated December 9, Axa S.A. disclosed that it grew its Cisco stake by 10.1% in Q2, to approximately 3.32 million shares, worth about $230 million. Cisco now represents about 0.7% of Axa’s portfolio, making it one of the insurer’s larger holdings. ^[6]

The same report highlights:

Cisco’s quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, implying a yield of roughly 2.1% at current prices
Solid profitability, with net margin around 18% and return on equity above 27%
A capital structure featuring a debt‑to‑equity ratio near 0.46 and current ratio just under 1, reflecting manageable leverage and liquidity. ^[7]

More broadly, about 73% of Cisco’s shares are in institutional hands, including large positions by global asset managers and pension funds. ^[8]

Options “whale” activity

Cisco also appeared on a Benzinga list of information-technology stocks with “whale alerts” on Tuesday, indicating notable options or large block activity in CSCO alongside other big tech names. ^[9] While this doesn’t guarantee direction, it underscores elevated interest from sophisticated traders.

Earnings Backdrop: AI-Led Networking Pushes Guidance Higher

Today’s trading is taking place against a very supportive earnings and guidance backdrop.

On November 12, 2025, Cisco reported Q1 FY 2026 results that beat Wall Street expectations and led management to raise guidance for the full fiscal year.

Key highlights from Cisco’s own earnings release and subsequent independent analysis: ^[10]

Revenue: $14.9 billion, up 8% year‑over‑year, slightly ahead of consensus around $14.8 billion
- Product revenue: $11.1 billion (+10%)
- Services revenue: $3.8 billion (+2%)
Non‑GAAP EPS:$1.00, about 9–10% higher than a year ago and ahead of forecasts around $0.98
Segment performance (YoY):
- Networking: $7.8 billion, +15%
- Security: $2.0 billion, –2% (reflecting portfolio transition and Splunk’s shift to cloud subscriptions)
- Collaboration: $1.1 billion, –3%
- Observability: $274 million, +6% ^[11]

The standout story is AI infrastructure demand:

Cisco booked about $1.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers in Q1, split between its Silicon One‑based systems and pluggable optics.
Management expects around $3 billion in AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscaler customers in FY 2026, signaling a meaningful new growth engine. ^[12]

To match this demand, Cisco is rolling out high‑performance networking gear such as the Cisco 8223 router (51.2 Tbps, powered by Silicon One P200) aimed at massive data‑center interconnect traffic, and expects to ship its one‑millionth Silicon One chip in Q2 FY 2026. ^[13]

Guidance: Strongest year yet?

Cisco’s official FY 2026 guidance now calls for: ^[14]

Revenue:$60.2–$61.0 billion
Non‑GAAP EPS:$4.08–$4.14

This incorporates the expected impact of new U.S. tariffs in key technology categories. On a GAAP basis, Cisco projects FY 2026 EPS of $2.87–$2.98. ^[15]

Independent analysts at Futurum describe Q1 as a “solid start to fiscal 2026” and note that recurring metrics such as Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) continue to trend higher, improving multi‑quarter visibility. ^[16]

What Wall Street Thinks: Analyst Ratings and Price Targets

Recent research and aggregation sites show broad but not unanimous bullishness on CSCO.

Consensus rating: Moderate Buy / Buy

MarketBeat reports that 26 brokerages covering Cisco have assigned an overall rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 17 Buy and 9 Hold recommendations. The average 12‑month price target is about $84.14. ^[17]
StockAnalysis, which compiles data from multiple Wall Street sources, lists an average rating of “Buy” and an almost identical average target price around $84.31, implying mid‑single‑digit upside from current levels. ^[18]

Recent target hikes after Q1 beat

Following the November earnings beat, several major banks and brokerages raised their price targets: ^[19]

Barclays: $71 → $76 (Hold)
Citigroup: $80 → $85 (Strong Buy)
J.P. Morgan: $80 → $90 (Buy)
Wells Fargo: $83 → $95 (Buy / Overweight)
UBS: $88 → $90 (Strong Buy)
KeyBanc: $77 → $87, citing networking strength
Rosenblatt Securities: $87 → $100, with a Buy rating

MarketWatch’s analyst consensus page shows a high target near $100, median around $86 and low around $74, with an average closer to $86.3, broadly in line with other aggregators. ^[20]

Quant & Technical Forecasts: Bullish but Not All Aligned

Short‑term and algorithmic forecasting services are mostly positive on CSCO as of December 9 — though not all models agree on the medium‑term path.

Technical services

StockInvest.us labels CSCO a “Strong Buy” based on moving averages and momentum, projecting about 17–18% potential upside over the next three months, with a 90% probability of the stock ending that window between roughly $88 and $95 if current trends persist. ^[21]
CoinCodex, another data‑driven platform, describes technical sentiment for Cisco as “100% bullish” across a range of daily and weekly moving averages as of December 9. ^[22]

Algorithmic price projections

CoinCodex’s model, however, is more cautious on fundamental upside: ^[23]

Near‑term (coming days): expects modest volatility with prices oscillating around current levels, with a short‑term dip toward the high‑$78 range.
Full‑year 2025 band: projects CSCO trading between $78.32 and $86.15, with an average around $82.47, implying potential single‑digit return from today.
One‑year ahead: their model actually sees downside risk, with a 1‑year projection around $65.80 (roughly –17% from current levels).
2030 forecast: a wide band that centers near $86, implying modest long‑term upside versus today’s price.

These algorithmic projections are highly model‑dependent and should be treated as one data point, not destiny — but they illustrate that not every quantitative view sees big upside left after this year’s rally.

Is Cisco Still Good Value After a 33%+ 2025 Rally?

A recent analysis circulating across Yahoo Finance asks: “Does Cisco Still Offer Value After Its Strong 33.4% 2025 Year To Date Rally?” The article notes Cisco scores well on several valuation checks and can still appear undervalued on some metrics, even after its strong run. ^[24]

A few points that help frame the valuation picture:

Cisco’s trailing P/E ratio is around 29 with a PEG ratio close to 2.9, according to MarketBeat, reflecting solid growth expectations priced into the shares. ^[25]
In its FY 2025 results, Cisco generated about $56.65 billion in revenue, up 5.3% year‑over‑year, though net income dipped slightly to about $10.18 billion (–1.4%). ^[26]
Wall Street forecasts compiled by StockAnalysis call for revenue to climb to roughly $61.9 billion this year and $65.1 billion next year, with EPS projected to grow from about $4.20 to $4.55 over that period. ^[27]

When you combine:

Mid‑single‑digit revenue growth
High‑single‑digit EPS growth
A 2%+ dividend yield and large share‑repurchase history
A business leveraged to multiyear cycles in AI infrastructure, campus refresh and secure networking

…it becomes easier to understand why many analysts still rate Cisco a Buy or Moderate Buy, even though valuation is no longer dirt‑cheap.

That said, some investors — including those wary of a broader AI‑driven tech bubble — argue that many AI beneficiaries could eventually see Cisco‑like stagnation if expectations get too far ahead of fundamentals. Notably, Michael Burry recently invoked Cisco’s dot‑com‑era history while warning about Nvidia at the “center” of a potential AI bubble. ^[28]

Key Risks and What to Watch

Even with strong fundamentals, Cisco investors should keep several risk factors on the radar:

AI spending cyclicality
Hyperscaler AI build‑outs are hot right now, but big capex cycles can overshoot. A pause in cloud or AI networking spend could pressure Cisco’s AI‑linked revenue expectations. ^[29]
Security business transition
Security revenue dipped slightly in Q1 as Cisco integrates Splunk and shifts more business to cloud subscriptions, which can defer revenue recognition even while boosting ARR. If this transition takes longer than expected, security growth could remain muted. ^[30]
Tariff and macro risk
Cisco’s guidance already builds in tariff headwinds, but any escalation in trade tensions or new restrictions on networking technology exports could weigh on margins or demand. ^[31]
Competition in high‑performance networking
Rivals such as Arista Networks and white‑box solutions continue to target data‑center and AI networking share; missteps in Silicon One adoption or optics pricing could erode Cisco’s edge over time. ^[32]
Insider selling and position rotation
MarketBeat data shows insiders have been net sellers in recent months, and some institutions have trimmed stakes even as others bought. That doesn’t automatically signal trouble, but it does suggest that not every large holder sees limitless upside at current levels. ^[33]

Bottom Line for Investors

As of December 9, 2025, the Cisco stock story looks like this:

Price action: CSCO is pressing against $80 resistance within a clear short‑term uptrend. A convincing breakout could attract additional technical buying. ^[34]
Fundamentals: The company just delivered an AI‑fueled earnings beat, raised its FY 2026 guidance, and is seeing strong demand for high‑speed networking in both hyperscale data centers and enterprise campuses. ^[35]
Sentiment: Analysts broadly rate the stock a Buy/Moderate Buy with average price targets clustered in the mid‑$80s and a bullish skew among technical services — though at least one quant model warns of possible downside over a one‑year horizon. ^[36]
Flows: Large institutions such as State Street and Axa are still adding to positions, and options “whales” are active, signaling continuing interest from big money. ^[37]

For long‑term investors, Cisco now sits at the intersection of:

A mature, cash‑rich networking franchise with steady services revenue
A new AI infrastructure growth vector that could sustain higher growth and margins
A valuation that’s no longer cheap, but not obviously euphoric versus expected earnings and cash flow

That combination helps explain why CSCO has become a core holding for many institutional portfolios and why it is drawing significant attention on December 9, 2025, from traders and long‑term investors alike.

As always, this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Anyone considering Cisco stock should evaluate their own risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio needs, and consider consulting a licensed financial advisor.