Valued at a market cap of $229.7 billion, Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry. The San Jose, California-based company provides a broad range of products and services, including routers, switches, cybersecurity solutions, cloud collaboration tools, and data center technologies. 

Shares of this tech company have outpaced the broader market over the past 52 weeks. CSCO has rallied 22.9% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 10.6%. Moreover, on a YTD basis, the stock is down 2.5% compared to SPX’s 5.3% decline. 

Zooming in further, CSCO’s outperformance looks more pronounced when compared to the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 7% rise over the past 52 weeks and 9.7% loss on a YTD basis.

On Feb. 12, CSCO released its better-than-expected Q2 results, prompting its share price to rise 2.1% in the following trading session. The company delivered a 9.4% year-over-year increase in revenue to $14 billion, with product revenue up by a robust 10.9% and services revenue up 5.6% annually. The top-line figure marginally surpassed the consensus estimates. Moreover, its adjusted EPS of $0.94 grew 8% from the year-ago quarter and topped Wall Street’s expectations by 3.3%. The results were supported by improved gross margins and a strong growth in the company’s security segment revenue, largely driven by the acquisition of Splunk. 

Looking ahead, Cisco expects fiscal 2025 revenue to be in the range of $56 billion to $56.5 billion, with adjusted EPS projected between $3.68 and $3.74.

For the current fiscal year, ending in July, analysts expect CSCO’s EPS to decline 1.6% year over year to $3.07. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It surpassed the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters. 

Among the 20 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy” which is based on 10 “Strong Buy,” two “Moderate Buy,” and eight “Hold” ratings. 

This configuration is slightly more bullish than three months ago, with nine analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating. 

On Apr. 28, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani maintained a “Buy” rating on CSCO and set a price target of $67, which indicates a 16.1% potential upside from the current levels. 

The mean price target of $69.67 represents a 20.7% upside from CSCO’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $79 suggests an upside potential of 36.8%.