Cisco Systems stock has been hot in 2019
Tech firm Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is slightly higher in early trading, last seen up 0.5% at $56.81. Goldman Sachs removed the stock from its Americas Conviction but left its "buy" rating in place, expecting more upside thanks to the company's Cat 9k product cycle. Goldman also raised its fiscal year 2020 revenue forecast by 1.5%, and hiked its price target to $62 from $58.
Coming into today, analysts were cheering the equity, with 16 of 20 sporting "buy" or "strong buy" ratings. Plus, the stock's average 12-month price target of $55.53 is in line with current trading levels, leaving plenty of room for more price hikes to come CSCO's way.
Looking at options, data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows Cisco Systems stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.89, in the 93rd percentile of its annual range. In other words, options traders have had a strong preference for calls over puts during the past two weeks. On the charts, Cisco stock is up 30.5% year-to-date, and just hit an 18-year high of $56.84.