Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and US$150 price target for Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) after the company deepened its partnership with Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) to accelerate AI infrastructure deployments.
The expanded collaboration integrates Cisco’s Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA’s AI Enterprise software and Super Micro’s liquid- and air-cooled rack-scale systems, including the NVIDIA NVL72 platform. Cisco will provide AI networking, distributed security, and Splunk integration, while Super Micro will deliver dense GPU systems and technical support. Orders for the rack-scale architecture are scheduled to begin in October 2026.
Cisco’s stock traded at approximately US$111.04 on Wednesday, up 1.45% or 1.32%, following the announcement. The company has faced investor scrutiny over its AI strategy amid broader market volatility in tech hardware.
Super Micro Computer reported a market capitalization of US$24.45 billion and a year-to-date gain of 31.4% as of the latest session. The company’s trailing twelve-month revenue grew 77.79%, though fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue missed expectations at US$11.12 billion, compared with a consensus forecast of US$11.26 billion, due to delays in large customer projects. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter reached US$1.70, exceeding the US$1.59 estimate.
Analysts at Needham maintained a Buy rating with a US$46 price target. Rosenblatt raised its target to US$51, citing US$60 billion in new AI infrastructure orders, and lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue and EPS estimates to US$68.5 billion and US$5.13, respectively. Bernstein increased its target to US$42 while keeping a Market Perform rating.
The partnership underscores growing collaboration between networking and AI hardware providers to meet surging enterprise demand for scalable, secure AI solutions.
