U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Fastly and Novocure Surge
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1h ago
0mins
Should l Buy CSCO?
Source: seekingalpha
- Fastly Strong Performance: Fastly's shares surged 34% after reporting a Q4 earnings beat, with Q1 adjusted EPS guidance of $0.07–$0.10 significantly above the $0.01 consensus, and full-year revenue projected at $700M–$720M, indicating improved profitability and stronger demand momentum.
- Novocure FDA Approval: Novocure's stock rose 31% following FDA approval of Optune Pax for locally advanced pancreatic cancer, supported by the PANOVA-3 trial showing a median overall survival extension of approximately 2 months, marking a significant treatment advancement for this patient group in decades.
- QuantumScape Earnings Miss: QuantumScape's shares fell 9% as its latest quarterly results revealed no revenue from its core business and a lack of FY2026 revenue guidance, despite a 14% cut in operating expenses narrowing the loss to $0.17 per share, leading to investor concerns over near-term revenue visibility.
- Cisco's Performance Pressure: Cisco's stock dropped 8% despite delivering FQ2 results and guidance above expectations, as investor focus shifted to broader demand concerns, with FQ3 sales guidance of $15.4B–$15.6B and adjusted EPS of $1.02–$1.04.
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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: 86.290
Low
76.00
Averages
89.36
High
100.00
Current: 86.290
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.

- Stock Market Trends: Stock futures were rising on Thursday as investors reacted to recent economic data.
- Economic Data Impact: The rise in stock futures comes in the wake of a delayed U.S. monthly jobs report and other economic indicators.
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- Fastly Strong Performance: Fastly's shares surged 34% after reporting a Q4 earnings beat, with Q1 adjusted EPS guidance of $0.07–$0.10 significantly above the $0.01 consensus, and full-year revenue projected at $700M–$720M, indicating improved profitability and stronger demand momentum.
- Novocure FDA Approval: Novocure's stock rose 31% following FDA approval of Optune Pax for locally advanced pancreatic cancer, supported by the PANOVA-3 trial showing a median overall survival extension of approximately 2 months, marking a significant treatment advancement for this patient group in decades.
- QuantumScape Earnings Miss: QuantumScape's shares fell 9% as its latest quarterly results revealed no revenue from its core business and a lack of FY2026 revenue guidance, despite a 14% cut in operating expenses narrowing the loss to $0.17 per share, leading to investor concerns over near-term revenue visibility.
- Cisco's Performance Pressure: Cisco's stock dropped 8% despite delivering FQ2 results and guidance above expectations, as investor focus shifted to broader demand concerns, with FQ3 sales guidance of $15.4B–$15.6B and adjusted EPS of $1.02–$1.04.
See More
- S&P 500 Forecast: Wall Street analysts predict an 18% increase in the S&P 500 to 8,200 over the next year, reflecting optimistic market sentiment about economic recovery, which may attract more investors into the market.
- Sector Performance: The information technology and consumer discretionary sectors are expected to grow by 33% and 22%, respectively, indicating that these industries will be focal points for investors, particularly through exposure via Vanguard ETFs.
- Vanguard Tech ETF Performance: The Vanguard Information Technology ETF achieved a total return of 776% over the past decade, equivalent to an annual growth of 24%, showcasing its strong performance in the tech sector, despite underperforming during market corrections.
- Concentration Risk Management: The top three stocks in the Vanguard Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary ETFs account for 44% and 43% of their performance, respectively, prompting investors to consider diversifying their portfolios to mitigate concentration risk and enhance resilience.
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- Sector Outlook: Wall Street analysts forecast that the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors will outperform the S&P 500 over the next year, with expected gains of 33% and 22% respectively, indicating growing investor confidence in these areas.
- ETF Investment Opportunities: Investors can gain exposure to these sectors through the Vanguard Information Technology ETF and Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF, which heavily feature stocks like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, as well as Amazon, Tesla, and Home Depot, reflecting a strong focus on tech and consumer goods.
- Long-Term Return Potential: The Vanguard Information Technology ETF achieved a total return of 776% over the past decade, averaging 24% annually, while the Consumer Discretionary ETF delivered a total return of 311%, averaging 15% annually, highlighting the attractiveness of these sectors for long-term investment.
- Risk and Diversification Strategy: Despite underperformance during market corrections, investors should consider diversifying their portfolios by purchasing index funds tracking financials, industrials, or utilities to mitigate risks associated with economic fluctuations.
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- Product Launch: On February 10, Cisco announced the Silicon One G300, a 102.4 Tbps switching silicon designed for large-scale AI cluster buildouts, aimed at pushing the frontier of AI networking in data centers and enhancing GPU investment returns for customers.
- System Innovation: The new systems feature innovative liquid cooling and support high-density optics, setting new efficiency benchmarks that not only improve data center energy efficiency but also strengthen Cisco's competitive position in the AI networking market by maximizing customer ROI.
- Campus Network Modernization: Cisco's multi-year collaboration with Georgetown University aims to modernize the campus network through the rollout of Wi-Fi 7, enhancing connectivity across classrooms, dorms, and stadiums, thereby establishing Georgetown as a pioneer in wireless innovation.
- Student Innovation Platform: Cisco will host the annual “Hoya Forward” hackathon platform every January, fostering student innovation and new beginnings, further solidifying its influence in the education sector.
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- Market Dynamics: U.S. stock futures are trading higher this Thursday morning, reflecting optimistic sentiment regarding economic recovery, which may attract investor attention.
- Investor Focus: As market sentiment improves, investors are likely to pay attention to the performance of specific stocks, especially with increased volatility expected ahead of economic data releases.
- Expectation Shifts: Market participants maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook on upcoming economic data, which could influence short-term stock performance, particularly in sectors closely tied to economic recovery.
- Technical Analysis: Technical indicators suggest that major indices may test key resistance levels in the short term, prompting investors to closely monitor market dynamics to seize investment opportunities.
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