Cisco Systems 
CSCO lost some ground in recent days even as the tech giant kicked off its Cisco Live 2025 event this week in San Diego, and the stock’s charts are flashing some conflicting signals. Let’s take a look.
Cisco’s Fundamental Analysis
CSCO’s three-day Cisco Live event began Monday and has seen some new-product announcements, but the stock has nonetheless struggled -- not surprising given that shares are trading very close to a key technical level.
On one hand, Cisco used the conference to announce a number of innovations, such as a Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Zero-Trust Network Access. The latter is a service that would simplify policy management for clients, as well as enhance visibility and securely scale while not adding complexity to a security stack.
CSCO also unveiled increased integration of the Splunk platform to unify data across all of the firm's services. That should help security teams automate workflows and respond more quickly to perceived threats.
As for earnings, Cisco will report its fiscal Q4 results some time in August.
The firm unveiled fiscal Q3 numbers last month, beating analyst expectations for both top- and bottom-line performance while growing sales 11.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Wall Street seems to think the current quarter will look good as well. Of the 18 analysts I found that cover Cisco, all of them have revised their fiscal-Q4 earnings projections higher over the past few months.
Cisco’s Technical Analysis
While all of that would typically help a stock, different Cisco charts tell very different tales about the stock’s technical picture.
First, here’s CSCO’s chart going back to January:
This chart appears to show that Cisco has developed a “cup-with-handle” pattern stretching from mid-February into June, as denoted with the purple curving line above. That’s historically a bullish pattern.
Cisco then rallied out of the pattern’s “handle” (the short purple diagonal line at right) until shares hit resistance at a $66 pivot point. (CSCO was trading at $64.70 Friday afternoon.)
But pivots are doors that can swing two ways. They can act as a trend accelerant -- kind of like a slingshot -- or they can stop a trend in its tracks. That's why investors keep an eye on them.
Looking at other technical points in the chart above, Cisco is currently riding above both its 200-day Simple Moving Average (or “SMA,” marked with a red line) and its 50-day SMA (denoted with a blue line). That traditionally helps keep portfolio managers invested in a stock.
Cisco is also well above its 21-day Exponential Moving Average (or “EMA,” marked with a green line above). That tends to keep the swing crowd on board.
Meanwhile, Cisco’s Relative Strength Index (the gray line at the chart’s top) looks very strong but is flirting with a technically overbought condition.
And lastly, the stock’s daily Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator (or “MACD,” marked with gold and block lines and blue bars at the chart’s bottom) looks bullish as well.
The histogram of Cisco’s 9-day EMA (marked with blue bars) is above zero, which tends to be bullish. Similarly, the stock’s 12-day EMA (the black line) is above its 26-day EMA (the gold line), with both in positive territory. That set-up is also typically bullish.
But what if Cisco never takes and holds that upside pivot? Then the stock might have a problem.
Take a look at this chart covering the same time period:
Because Cisco’s pivot is located at roughly the same price level as the left-side apex of the cup-with-handle pattern’s cup, this chart shows a potential bearish pattern brewing for the stock.
Should Cisco stop rising from its current levels of about $64, then the cup-with-handle pattern will suddenly look more like a so-called “double-top” pattern of bearish reversal.
This double-top pattern (marked with “Top 1” and “Top 2” boxes above) would have a downside pivot of $52, the low point between the two tops.
The RSI and MACD in this second chart still lean bullish, but the potentially bearish double-top pattern should be a serious consideration for Cisco investors.
Add it all up and some investors might decide to take a wait-and-see attitude here and watch whether Cisco takes out its $66 upside pivot or not.
(Moomoo Technologies Inc. Markets Commentator Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle had no position in CSCO at the time of writing this column.)
This article discusses technical analysis, other approaches, including fundamental analysis, may offer very different views. The examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be reflective of the results you can expect to achieve. Specific security charts used are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Past investment performance does not indicate or guarantee future success. Returns will vary, and all investments carry risks, including loss of principal. This content is also not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. The information contained in this article does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. Moomoo and its affiliates make no representation or warranty as to the article's adequacy, completeness, accuracy or timeliness for any particular purpose of the above content. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any statements, estimates, price targets, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.
Moomoo is a financial information and trading app offered by Moomoo Technologies Inc. In the U.S., investment products and services on Moomoo are offered by Moomoo Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
TradingView is an independent third party not affiliated with Moomoo Financial Inc., Moomoo Technologies Inc., or its affiliates. Moomoo Financial Inc. and its affiliates do not endorse, represent or warrant the completeness and accuracy of the data and information available on the TradingView platform and are not responsible for any services provided by the third-party platform.
CSCO lost some ground in recent days even as the tech giant kicked off its Cisco Live 2025 event this week in San Diego, and the stock’s charts are flashing some conflicting signals. Let’s take a look.Cisco’s Fundamental Analysis
CSCO’s three-day Cisco Live event began Monday and has seen some new-product announcements, but the stock has nonetheless struggled -- not surprising given that shares are trading very close to a key technical level.
On one hand, Cisco used the conference to announce a number of innovations, such as a Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Zero-Trust Network Access. The latter is a service that would simplify policy management for clients, as well as enhance visibility and securely scale while not adding complexity to a security stack.
CSCO also unveiled increased integration of the Splunk platform to unify data across all of the firm's services. That should help security teams automate workflows and respond more quickly to perceived threats.
As for earnings, Cisco will report its fiscal Q4 results some time in August.
The firm unveiled fiscal Q3 numbers last month, beating analyst expectations for both top- and bottom-line performance while growing sales 11.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Wall Street seems to think the current quarter will look good as well. Of the 18 analysts I found that cover Cisco, all of them have revised their fiscal-Q4 earnings projections higher over the past few months.
Cisco’s Technical Analysis
While all of that would typically help a stock, different Cisco charts tell very different tales about the stock’s technical picture.
First, here’s CSCO’s chart going back to January:
This chart appears to show that Cisco has developed a “cup-with-handle” pattern stretching from mid-February into June, as denoted with the purple curving line above. That’s historically a bullish pattern.
Cisco then rallied out of the pattern’s “handle” (the short purple diagonal line at right) until shares hit resistance at a $66 pivot point. (CSCO was trading at $64.70 Friday afternoon.)
But pivots are doors that can swing two ways. They can act as a trend accelerant -- kind of like a slingshot -- or they can stop a trend in its tracks. That's why investors keep an eye on them.
Looking at other technical points in the chart above, Cisco is currently riding above both its 200-day Simple Moving Average (or “SMA,” marked with a red line) and its 50-day SMA (denoted with a blue line). That traditionally helps keep portfolio managers invested in a stock.
Cisco is also well above its 21-day Exponential Moving Average (or “EMA,” marked with a green line above). That tends to keep the swing crowd on board.
Meanwhile, Cisco’s Relative Strength Index (the gray line at the chart’s top) looks very strong but is flirting with a technically overbought condition.
And lastly, the stock’s daily Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator (or “MACD,” marked with gold and block lines and blue bars at the chart’s bottom) looks bullish as well.
The histogram of Cisco’s 9-day EMA (marked with blue bars) is above zero, which tends to be bullish. Similarly, the stock’s 12-day EMA (the black line) is above its 26-day EMA (the gold line), with both in positive territory. That set-up is also typically bullish.
But what if Cisco never takes and holds that upside pivot? Then the stock might have a problem.
Take a look at this chart covering the same time period:
Because Cisco’s pivot is located at roughly the same price level as the left-side apex of the cup-with-handle pattern’s cup, this chart shows a potential bearish pattern brewing for the stock.
Should Cisco stop rising from its current levels of about $64, then the cup-with-handle pattern will suddenly look more like a so-called “double-top” pattern of bearish reversal.
This double-top pattern (marked with “Top 1” and “Top 2” boxes above) would have a downside pivot of $52, the low point between the two tops.
The RSI and MACD in this second chart still lean bullish, but the potentially bearish double-top pattern should be a serious consideration for Cisco investors.
Add it all up and some investors might decide to take a wait-and-see attitude here and watch whether Cisco takes out its $66 upside pivot or not.
(Moomoo Technologies Inc. Markets Commentator Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle had no position in CSCO at the time of writing this column.)
This article discusses technical analysis, other approaches, including fundamental analysis, may offer very different views. The examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be reflective of the results you can expect to achieve. Specific security charts used are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Past investment performance does not indicate or guarantee future success. Returns will vary, and all investments carry risks, including loss of principal. This content is also not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. The information contained in this article does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. Moomoo and its affiliates make no representation or warranty as to the article's adequacy, completeness, accuracy or timeliness for any particular purpose of the above content. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any statements, estimates, price targets, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.
Moomoo is a financial information and trading app offered by Moomoo Technologies Inc. In the U.S., investment products and services on Moomoo are offered by Moomoo Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
TradingView is an independent third party not affiliated with Moomoo Financial Inc., Moomoo Technologies Inc., or its affiliates. Moomoo Financial Inc. and its affiliates do not endorse, represent or warrant the completeness and accuracy of the data and information available on the TradingView platform and are not responsible for any services provided by the third-party platform.
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The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.