Shares in Cisco Systems (CSCO) traded flat on Tuesday afternoon following reports that the networking infrastructure provider managed to contain a cyberattack. The attack is linked to data stolen from the recent breach of cybersecurity firm Aqua Security’s Trivy open-source security tool.
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Cyberattack at Cisco?
According to cybersecurity outlet BleepingComputer, hackers involved in the earlier incident deployed credentials from the recent attack to gain unauthorized access to Cisco’s internal development environment. They allegedly stole source code belonging to the California-based company and its customers.
The publication cited a source that claimed that the attackers came through a malicious plugin in code-hosting platform GitHub’s Actions automation environment for Trivy. The incident impacted scores of devices, the report claimed.
Cisco Doubles Down on AI Race
As a communication equipment company, Cisco makes and sells products such as networking gear, data center switches, and router systems. It also provides security solutions.
The company has its eye on the AI boom and recently launched an advanced version of its AI networking chip to compete with rival offerings from Broadcom (AVGO) and Nvidia (NVDA).
Several analysts are bullish on its AI case. This week, Truist Financial’s Matthew Niknam flagged CSCO as a Buy, noting that the company belongs to the networking and hardware group best-positioned to tap into Big Tech’s $700 billion capital expenditure on AI infrastructure for this year alone.
Niknam assigned a price target of $94 on Cisco’s shares, predicting about 22% upside. However, he called for caution in embracing these stocks — including Arista Networks (ANET), HPE (HPE), and Motorola Solutions (MSI) — due to their relatively higher valuations.
Is Cisco a Buy or Sell Stock?
On Wall Street, Cisco Systems’ shares currently have a Moderate Buy consensus rating from analysts. This breaks down to 10 Buys and four Holds issued over the past three months.
However, the average CSCO price target of $92 implies over 19% upside.
