Cisco shares will thrive due to its pivot to a more recurring revenue business model, according to one top Wall Street firm.
J.P. Morgan reiterated its overweight rating for Cisco’s stock, predicting the company’s recently announced mandatory subscription offering for networking switches will boost its profits.
The firm has a “favorable outlook for Cisco’s positioning in software capabilities which we believe are well aligned to the transformation in the industry from primarily proprietary hardware to proprietary software adding flexibility and agility to the network,” analyst Samik Chatterjee said in a note to clients Monday. “We believe Cisco’s extensive software capabilities and recurring subscription based rev additionally call for a re-rating in the shares, which have historically traded at discount to software companies and to the market multiple despite a strong earnings outlook.”