Cisco, Arista, Jasper, StoneCo, Lisata Trending With Analysts

Analysts are intrested in these 5 stocks: ( (CSCO) ), ( (ANET) ), ( (JSPR) ), ( (STNE) ) and ( (LSTA) ). Here is a breakdown of their recent ratings and the rationale behind them.

Cisco Systems has just been thrust back into the AI spotlight as HSBC’s Stephen Bersey upgrades CSCO to Buy with a sharply higher $137 target. The call leans on a stronger-than-expected third quarter, rising AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers, and management’s guidance for double‑digit EPS growth as AI climbs toward a high‑single‑digit share of revenue.

For investors, the story is that Cisco is evolving from a slow‑growth router giant into a structural AI infrastructure play, powered by its Silicon One chips and Acacia optics. While gross margins face pressure from a heavier hardware mix and memory costs, HSBC argues that pricing power, tighter contracts, and disciplined spending provide credible offsets, leaving valuation attractive versus other AI‑infrastructure names.

Arista Networks is also moving up analysts’ trend lists, with Raymond James’ Simon Leopold upgrading ANET to Outperform and setting a $164 target. The thesis centers on Arista’s deep AI exposure, already around 40% of sales, and its edge in managing the increasingly complex, bursty traffic patterns created by modern AI workloads.

The firm sees 2027 and beyond as a powerful growth phase as Arista wins more scale‑across deals, stretches AI clusters across wide‑area networks, and benefits from AMD’s rising accelerator share. Supply chain bottlenecks may cap near‑term upside, but expanding opportunities in AI back‑end networking and a coming wave of Ethernet‑based accelerator links could support a premium multiple for the stock.

Jasper Therapeutics, by contrast, has hit a tough inflection point, with analyst Yaron Werber cutting JSPR from Buy to Hold. The company holds just $14 million in cash against a high burn rate, and while it has streamlined to focus on chronic spontaneous urticaria, briquilimab is now several years behind rivals in an increasingly crowded market.

Jasper is waiting on FDA feedback for a revised Phase 2b trial that could fix prior dosing issues and unlock fresh capital, but financing risk is now central to the story. With competitive pressure, lingering safety concerns around the c‑KIT drug class, and key patent coverage expiring in 2027, the analyst sees too many strategic uncertainties for aggressive investors right now.

Brazilian fintech StoneCo also loses some shine as Citi’s Gustavo Schroden downgrades STNE to Neutral (High Risk) and cuts the target price to $11. The core concern is that weakness in the traditional merchant acquiring model looks more structural than cyclical, while the credit business, once expected to be a growth engine, is now clouded by deteriorating asset quality.

First‑quarter numbers highlighted the tension: transaction revenue was soft as Stone adjusted pricing, total payment volume slowed, and credit costs surged with rising delinquencies and a spike in cost of risk. Management is keeping expenses tight and capital allocation clearer, but with high interest rates and mounting credit concerns, the analyst warns that today’s seemingly cheap valuation may not be the bargain it appears.

Lisata Therapeutics rounds out the list with a downgrade from Buy to Neutral by analyst Joseph Pantginis, putting LSTA into a holding pattern. The stock had been buoyed by news that private firm Kuva Labs would acquire Lisata for $5 per share plus a $1 contingent value right, but delays as Kuva reworks its financing have increased the risk the deal might not close.

Lisata is currently bound by a no‑shop clause that expires at the end of May, and a breakup fee would be due if the transaction is terminated. Until there is clarity on the acquisition, promising cancer asset certepetide remains effectively stuck; multiple mid‑stage trials are progressing and regulators have accepted a Phase 3 framework, but moving into large, expensive studies will likely require either the Kuva deal or fresh capital, leaving investors waiting on a clear catalyst.