Cisco shares close lower, company delays virtual conference in support of nationwide protests

Thanks to a jump in the shares of the Oil & Gas, Consumer Goods and Financials sectors, the US stocks closed higher on Monday. Despite that, Cisco was among the worst performers in Monday trading with shares dropping 3.18% or 1.52 points to close at 46.30.

On Monday, the technology company postponed its online conference due to the ongoing protests all over the country. Although Cisco Live 2020 was already changed to an online conference due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company also shared that it will postpone the event that was due to be broadcasted this week. Cisco stated that the company is always striving for equality and supports the movement that sparked the protests in the US.

In a video uploaded on YouTube, the CEO of Cisco Systems, Chuck Robbins, stated that the company will donate $5 million to charities that fight racism and other types of discrimination.

The technology conglomerate still has not announced another date for Cisco Live 2020 but other news related to the company may catch the attention of investors.

For the upcoming months, the company has decided to focus on smaller businesses. While Cisco is considered a staple name in the network and communications sectors, it has not been very well integrated into the small business field.

The new and improved products that Cisco plans to launch in order to dominate small businesses include an upgraded Cisco Business Dashboard, new switches, new Cisco Mailbox Defense, Webex Work and network analytics tools.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, 21 analysts who provide 12-month price forecasts for Cisco Systems Inc. have a median target of $48.00, with a high estimate of $60.00 and a low estimate of $41.00. The median estimate represents a +3.65% increase from the last price of $46.31.

The same media also offers recommendations for the Cisco Systems Inc. stock, based on the data gathered by 27 investment analysts. The consensus rating for the company’s stock is “Hold”, with 14 analysts rating it as “Hold”, 11 as “Buy” and 2 – as “Outperform”.