Core Viewpoint - Federated Hermes Inc. has reduced its stake in Cisco Systems by 18.8% in Q3, indicating a shift in institutional investment sentiment towards the company [2]. Institutional Holdings - Federated Hermes Inc. now holds 255,477 shares of Cisco Systems, valued at $17,480,000 after selling 59,116 shares [2]. - Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position by 1.1% in Q2, owning 420,336 shares worth $29,163,000 after acquiring 4,525 additional shares [3]. - Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake valued at approximately $8,563,000 in Q3 [3]. - Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake by 2.7% in Q2, now owning 16,605 shares valued at $1,152,000 [3]. - CX Institutional increased its holdings by 11.0% in Q3, owning 144,336 shares valued at $9,875,000 after purchasing 14,334 shares [3]. - Shell Asset Management Co. grew its position by 53.3% in Q2, now holding 77,234 shares worth $5,358,000 [3]. - Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of Cisco Systems stock [3]. Stock Performance - Cisco Systems stock opened at $78.32, with a market cap of $309.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, and a beta of 0.87 [4]. - The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.12 [4]. - The twelve-month low and high for the stock are $52.11 and $80.82, respectively [4]. Financial Performance - Cisco reported $1.00 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.98 by $0.02 [5]. - The company generated revenue of $14.88 billion, surpassing estimates of $14.77 billion, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.5% [5]. - Cisco's return on equity stands at 27.29%, and its net margin is 18.38% [5]. - The FY 2026 EPS guidance is set at 4.080-4.140, with Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS [5]. Dividend Information - Cisco recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.64 and a yield of 2.1% [6]. - The dividend payout ratio is 61.65% [6]. Insider Transactions - Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares at an average price of $77.28, resulting in a total transaction of $1,248,072 [7]. - Insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 163,896 shares at an average price of $77.86, totaling $12,760,942.56 [7]. - Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares valued at $81,397,635 [7]. Analyst Ratings - Bank of America raised its price target for Cisco from $85.00 to $95.00, maintaining a "buy" rating [9]. - Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating for Cisco [9]. - BNP Paribas Exane increased its price target from $76.00 to $86.00, giving an "outperform" rating [9]. - KeyCorp raised its target price from $77.00 to $87.00, assigning an "overweight" rating [9]. - Cisco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $86.81 [9].

Industry Overview - Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing market driven by the digitization of organizations and the increasing scale of cyber threats, with demand expected to continue growing through 2026 as threats evolve and architectures shift to cloud and AI [1] - The global cybersecurity market is projected to grow from $218.98 billion in 2025 to $562.77 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.40% [2] - Key sectors for investment opportunities include finance, healthcare, and government, with significant potential in AI-driven security, managed security services, and zero-trust architectures, particularly in emerging markets like Asia Pacific and South America [2] Market Dynamics - The cybersecurity sector benefits from strong secular tailwinds, but faces challenges such as intense competition, rapid technological changes, regulatory complexity, and high talent costs [3] - As cyber threats increase across various environments, companies are compelled to invest more in cybersecurity, making it essential for business continuity and digital trust [1][3] Company Highlights - **Qualys Inc. (QLYS)**: A leading provider of information security solutions, with a focus on continuous product innovation in areas like Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response. The company raised its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to $665.8 million to $667.8 million, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase [5][6] - **Fortinet Inc. (FTNT)**: Provides network security appliances and Unified Threat Management solutions. The company is experiencing strong demand from large enterprise customers, although it faces challenges in sales execution and marketing efficiency. Its full-year revenue guidance is $6.72 billion to $6.78 billion [8][9] - **CrowdStrike (CRWD)**: Specializes in next-generation endpoint protection and threat intelligence. The company expects revenues for fiscal 2026 to be between $4.797 billion and $4.807 billion, with a strong sales pipeline and customer adoption of its Falcon platform [10][11] - **Palo Alto Networks (PANW)**: Offers network security solutions and is enhancing its platform strategy through the acquisition of CyberArk Software, expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2026. This acquisition aims to strengthen identity-aware security and is projected to be accretive to revenue growth and gross margin [14][15]

Core Insights - Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) is a leading cybersecurity solutions provider with a market cap of $61.1 billion, offering a comprehensive suite of security technologies [1][2] - The company is categorized as a large-cap stock, reflecting its significant influence in the software-infrastructure industry [2] - Fortinet's competitive advantages include its unified Security Fabric Platform, extensive security solutions, AI-driven operations, and strong partnerships with major cloud providers [2] Financial Performance - FTNT has experienced a 30.6% decline from its 52-week high of $114.82, reached on February 18 [3] - Over the past three months, FTNT stock has decreased by 21.6%, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite's 12.6% gains [3] - Year-to-date, FTNT shares are down 15.7%, while they have increased by 7% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the Nasdaq's YTD gains of 14.7% and 26% returns [4] Market Trends - FTNT has been trading below its 50-day moving average since late July and below its 200-day moving average since early August, indicating a bearish trend [4] - Concerns regarding the nearing completion of its firewall upgrade cycle, which is a key growth driver, have contributed to investor apprehension [5] - Broader challenges in the cybersecurity sector, including macroeconomic uncertainty and intensified competition due to industry consolidation, are impacting Fortinet's performance [5]

Core Insights - Zacks Premium provides tools for investors to enhance their stock market engagement and confidence through daily updates, research reports, and stock screens [1][2] Zacks Style Scores - Zacks Style Scores rate stocks based on value, growth, and momentum, serving as complementary indicators to the Zacks Rank [2][3] - Stocks are rated from A to F, with A indicating the highest potential for outperforming the market [3] Value Score - The Value Style Score focuses on identifying undervalued stocks using financial ratios such as P/E, PEG, and Price/Sales [3] Growth Score - The Growth Style Score assesses a company's financial health and future outlook based on projected and historical earnings, sales, and cash flow [4] Momentum Score - The Momentum Style Score identifies optimal times to invest based on price trends and earnings estimate changes [5] VGM Score - The VGM Score combines all three Style Scores, providing a comprehensive indicator for selecting stocks with attractive value, growth potential, and momentum [6] Zacks Rank - The Zacks Rank is a proprietary model that utilizes earnings estimate revisions to guide investors in building successful portfolios [7] - Stocks rated 1 (Strong Buy) have historically achieved an average annual return of +25.41% since 1988, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 [8] Stock Selection Strategy - Investors are encouraged to select stocks with a Zacks Rank of 1 or 2 and Style Scores of A or B for optimal success [10] - Stocks with lower ranks, even with high Style Scores, may still face downward price trends [11] Company Spotlight: Fortinet (FTNT) - Fortinet, a network security solutions provider, holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of B [12] - The company has a Momentum Style Score of A, with shares increasing by 5.9% over the past four weeks [12] - Recent upward revisions in earnings estimates for fiscal 2025 have led to a consensus estimate increase of $0.03 to $2.47 per share, with an average earnings surprise of 23.8% [13]