In the latest trading session, Cisco Systems (CSCO) closed at $117.09, marking a -1.81% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.02%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9%.
Heading into today, shares of the seller of routers, switches, software and services had lost 0.77% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 1.5% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 1.27%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Cisco Systems in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.17, indicating a 18.18% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $16.85 billion, indicating a 14.86% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.28 per share and revenue of $62.95 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.34% and +11.11%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Cisco Systems. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Cisco Systems is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
In terms of valuation, Cisco Systems is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 27.85. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 20.67 of its industry.
It is also worth noting that CSCO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.51. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As the market closed yesterday, the Computer - Networking industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.88.
The Computer - Networking industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 181, placing it within the bottom 27% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).