TECH - Cisco's Long-Term Prospects Shine with AI and Security Analysts Stay Optimistic Despite Challenges | Benzinga
Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron reiterated an Outperform rating on Cisco Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) with a price target of $54.
The analyst stated that Cisco reported a mixed second quarter, beating estimates but guiding below street on third-quarter revenue.
As per Kidron, the company continues to deal with a slower pace of inventory digestion, and management now expects pressures to persist through the end of fiscal 2024.
With an uptick in macro pressure and continued weakness for Service Providers, management reset the fiscal 2024 revenue outlook.
Kidron noted these challenges as temporary and remained positive on the long-term outlook.
Cisco is in the early innings of addressing an ample AI opportunity, which will likely contribute to revenue in fiscal 2025, coupled with new cross-sell opportunities in Security and Observability from the Splunk acquisition, which left the analyst optimistic about the shares.
Kidron projects third-quarter revenue and EPS of $12.2 billion (prior $12.9 billion) and $0.85 (prior $0.90).
JMP analyst Erik Suppiger maintained a Market Perform rating on Cisco.
The analyst is concerned that ...