Cisco shares up as J.P. Morgan starts coverage, excitement builds for Tuesday event

Cisco shares up ahead of Tuesday event

NEW YORK — Shares of Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear, rose Monday after JP Morgan initiated coverage of the stock with an “Overweight” rating, and investors waited for a Cisco news conference on Tuesday.

Cisco shares gained $1.13, or 4.5 percent, at $26.34 in late afternoon trading.

Cisco has said Tuesday’s announcement, on an invitation-only Webcast, will “forever change the Internet.” Analyst Brian White at Ticonderoga Securities speculated that it involves mobile Internet access, following earlier hints by Cisco. In December, Cisco bought Starent Networks Corp., a maker of equipment used by telecommunications carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet.

He said he expects positive news for Cisco over the next couple of weeks, and the stock remains a top pick, he wrote in a Monday research report.

On Sunday, JP Morgan put out a note to clients reinstating coverage of Cisco. Analyst Rod Hall also pointed to the expansion of mobile data usage as something that will benefit Cisco. In addition, the trend towards “virtualization,” or having one physical computer act like many with the help of software, points toward increased traffic in data centers.

Hall said his analysis implied that investors are pricing in 3.8 percent year-over-year revenue growth for Cisco in perpetuity.

“Given the positive trends Cisco participates in, we believe that this is overly pessimistic — even in a scenario in which the economy continues to decline,” Hall wrote. He put a $28 price target on the stock for December.