CSCO: Rising Expectations

Cisco stock has risen over the past days in expectation of the upcoming earnings announcement on Tuesday (May 6th). CSCO has a habit of rising into the quarterly report then sinking in after-hours trading during the middle of the call when forward guidance is provided. One can only hope that in midst of a fairly dismal earnings season that the guidance provided by CEO John Chambers outlines an expected rebound in U.S. IT spending for the remainder of 2008. Otherwise history may once again repeat itself.

Cisco is expected to report earnings of 36 cents on revenue of $9.74 billion, compared with 34 cents a share on revenue of $8.9 billion for the year-earlier period. Guidance has been provided for a 10% growth in revenue for the quarter in an uncertain macro environment. Analysts will look to the company’s comments as a barometer on the tech industry. [note: corrected]

CSCO stock has been showing strength over the past few weeks. Any type of quantitative analysis now shows that the probability of the stock going to $30 is greater than sinking to $20. This is positive news for Cisco bulls. However many are left wondering if the current price action is reflective of the traditional pre-earnings rise or if the stock is building a base for significant increases over the coming year.

The charts of CSCO provided below reflect the support floor at $22.80, and improving technicals. The stock has risen above its 50 day moving average and is approaching the 200 day moving average with increasing volume over the past days. RSI has increased from under 30 in mid-January to nearly 70 today reflecting the relative strength of the stock. The MACD indicator is above both the zero line and signal line, and appears bullish as the gap above the signal line is accelerating. Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) has turned positive as more money as flowed into CSCO stock over the past few weeks.


Of course, the quarterly earning report at Cisco always tends to throw a wrench into the technical evaluation of CSCO stock.

Fundamentally Cisco is still a cash generation machine. However institutional investors want to see the cash put to work in the form of large sized acquisitions or a dividend. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a dividend, but further sizable acquisitions that drive growth are likely given the history of the company. Investors hope for some meaningful insight about the company’s growth plans.

Investors are looking for something new to spark their enthusiasm for Cisco stock, otherwise most will simply hold their existing shares while listening to CNBC commentators muttering the now traditional quote, “Love the company, hate the stock” – and praying that the next quarter will bring some new magic.


Disclosure: Author holds CSCO long.