Cisco price target raised to $72 from $57 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Cisco (CSCO) to $72 from $57 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Cisco faced a good setup as the firm previewed, which given the upside, guide-up, and narrative around datacenter refresh, AI-traction with hyperscalers, Splunk integration, new product launches, and campus refresh potentially down the road, has sent shares more than 5% higher after hours. The debate from here will center around how much the lead-metric upside has been easier-compares vs. incremental demand vs. Splunk contribution, Piper adds. Estimates are still set up well following the guide-raise, and it sees Cisco being able to sustain mid-single digit sales growth as the cycles contribute and the business transition is nearing an inflection point.