Tech Stock Valuation Concerns Intensify
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2h ago
0mins
Should l Buy CSCO?
Source: Fool
- Tech Stock Volatility: Since early November, tech stocks have experienced volatility due to overvaluation fears, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining only 0.48% over three months, indicating a cautious market sentiment that could impact investor confidence.
- Microsoft's Earnings Miss: Despite a 60% year-over-year profit increase, Microsoft's share price fell 10% after its January 28 earnings report, reflecting the pressure of high expectations on tech companies and prompting investors to reassess risk.
- Nvidia CEO's Remarks: Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang highlighted in the latest earnings call that AI technology is shattering Moore's Law and driving three major shifts in computing platforms, underscoring the company's leadership in AI and its potential market impact.
- Valuation vs. Profitability: The Nasdaq-100's average P/E ratio stands at 32.9, significantly lower than the 60 during the 2000 bubble, with current tech giants being highly profitable, indicating a stark contrast to historical bubbles and potentially offering a buying opportunity for investors.
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Analyst Views on CSCO
Wall Street analysts forecast CSCO stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CSCO is 89.36 USD with a low forecast of 76.00 USD and a high forecast of 100.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
14 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 80.640
Low
76.00
Averages
89.36
High
100.00
Current: 80.640
Low
76.00
Averages
89.36
High
100.00
About CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs and sells a range of technologies that power the Internet. The Company is integrating its product portfolios across networking, security, collaboration, applications and cloud. The Company's segments include the Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC). Its Networking product category represents its core networking technologies of switching, routing, wireless, fifth generation (5G), silicon, optics solutions and compute products. Its Security product category consists of its cloud and application security, industrial security, network security, and user and device security offerings. Its Collaboration product category consists of its meetings, collaboration devices, calling, contact center and platform as a service (CPaaS) offering. Its Observability product category consists of its full stack observability offerings.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Earnings Call Schedule: Cisco has scheduled a conference call for February 11, 2026, at 1:30 PM (PT) to announce its Q2 FY2026 financial results, reflecting the company's commitment to transparency and investor communication.
- Market Distribution Channels: The financial results will be released via PR Newswire after market close, covering both US and European financial distribution networks, ensuring broad access to information for investors.
- Participation Details: Investors can join the call by dialing 888-848-6507 (international callers: 212-519-0847), demonstrating Cisco's commitment to serving its global investor base.
- Replay Availability: A replay of the conference call will be available starting at 4:00 PM (PT) on February 11, 2026, through February 17, 2026, allowing investors who missed the live event to access critical information.
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- GPU Development Plan: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced at an AI conference in San Francisco that the company plans to develop graphics processing units (GPUs), a chip category popularized by Nvidia, indicating a strategic shift for Intel in high-performance computing.
- Executive Hiring: Tan revealed that Intel has hired a chief GPU architect to lead this new initiative, demonstrating the company's commitment to the GPU sector and enhancing its technical capabilities by bringing in top talent.
- Market Competition: This move not only directly responds to competitors like Nvidia but also positions Intel to capture a larger market share in the rapidly growing AI and graphics processing sectors, thereby enhancing its industry standing.
- Strategic Implications: By entering the GPU market, Intel aims to diversify its product line and strengthen its competitiveness in high-performance computing and AI, ultimately driving future growth and innovation.
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- Tech Stock Volatility: Since early November, tech stocks have experienced volatility due to overvaluation fears, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining only 0.48% over three months, indicating a cautious market sentiment that could impact investor confidence.
- Microsoft's Earnings Miss: Despite a 60% year-over-year profit increase, Microsoft's share price fell 10% after its January 28 earnings report, reflecting the pressure of high expectations on tech companies and prompting investors to reassess risk.
- Nvidia CEO's Remarks: Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang highlighted in the latest earnings call that AI technology is shattering Moore's Law and driving three major shifts in computing platforms, underscoring the company's leadership in AI and its potential market impact.
- Valuation vs. Profitability: The Nasdaq-100's average P/E ratio stands at 32.9, significantly lower than the 60 during the 2000 bubble, with current tech giants being highly profitable, indicating a stark contrast to historical bubbles and potentially offering a buying opportunity for investors.
See More
- Stock Recovery: Cisco's shares have finally surpassed their dotcom bubble peak after nearly 26 years, marking a significant recovery in the company's history and reflecting market recognition of its transformation.
- Strategic Shift: Transitioning from a hardware-centric company to one focused on software and services, Cisco's $28 billion acquisition of Splunk further solidifies its position in data monitoring and security analytics, showcasing its strategic alignment with the AI boom.
- Growing AI Demand: Cisco reported $1.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders in November, indicating a significant acceleration in demand from hyperscaler customers, which is expected to drive earnings beats in upcoming quarters.
- Analyst Optimism: UBS named Cisco an
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- Market Shift Warning: Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, warns that investors may be underestimating the shift away from U.S. assets, particularly large tech firms, as Europe and other regions reduce dependence on American platforms and policies.
- Digital Sovereignty Push: Tuttle highlights a significant move towards digital sovereignty in Europe, ensuring that core systems and communications cannot be easily disabled if relations with the U.S. deteriorate, which will impact future technology procurement and investment decisions.
- Beneficiary Companies: He identifies several European companies, including OVH Groupe, IONOS, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Capgemini, that could benefit from this shift, indicating a market tilt towards local technology solutions.
- Strained U.S.-EU Relations: Relations between the U.S. and EU have further strained after President Trump threatened tariffs on the EU for not supporting his Greenland acquisition bid, which may intensify scrutiny on U.S. tech companies and affect investor confidence.
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- Cisco Options Volume: Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) saw an options trading volume of 92,005 contracts today, representing approximately 9.2 million shares, which is about 48.4% of its average daily trading volume of 19 million shares over the past month, indicating heightened market interest in its future performance.
- High Volume Contracts: Among Cisco's options, the $81 strike call option has been particularly active, with 17,366 contracts traded today, equating to approximately 1.7 million shares, reflecting strong bullish sentiment among investors at this price level.
- AST SpaceMobile Options Activity: AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS) recorded an options trading volume of 83,448 contracts today, representing around 8.3 million shares, or approximately 46.6% of its average daily trading volume of 17.9 million shares over the past month, showcasing investor confidence in its future potential.
- AST High Volume Contracts: For ASTS, the $140 strike call option has seen a trading volume of 3,342 contracts today, representing about 334,200 shares, indicating a positive outlook from the market regarding the company's growth prospects.
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