One Of My Highest Conviction Stock Picks From 2025 For 2026: CISCO ($CSCO)
Let’s Review…
I recommended CSCO last October to LaDucTrading clients, with INTC, as two of my top picks for 2026.
Intel has risen 270% on a stock basis alone!
Cisco posted earnings this week & is up 15% & since recommended +70%!
I shared my play-by-play for Intel last month:
As I said at the end of the above post on Intel:
In a nutshell, both met my often-discussed three-main themes:
1. “Boomer Stocks are the new Inflationary Assets”
2. “AI Winner Takes All”
3. “US as Government Venture Capitalist”
And in the same way I ran through my INTC market timing calls last month, I wanted to do a review of my CSCO market timing calls I made repeatedly in front of clients!
Once again, I asked our LaDucTrading Slack member workspace AI bot to provide a comprehensive chronological summary of all references I made on CISCO (CSCO) - from all the AI briefing documents posted in #samanthas-market-thoughts (based on my live trading room coverage), or within my channel itself. Here ya go!!
Here is a recap of CSCO (Cisco) - in Chronological Bullet Summary - from Sep 2025 – May 14, 2026:
Oct 31, 2025
Bullish — “72.55 also nice area to get/stay above for continuation higher”
Nov 3, 2025
Bullish — “Popped above $72.55 following a UBS upgrade to $88 target. Aided by AI infrastructure demand; over $2B in AI orders in FY2025.”
Nov 10, 2025
Bullish — “The spotlight will definitely be on Cisco… Focus is on networking, enterprise, and IT spending.”
Nov 12, 2025
Very Bullish — “CISCO!!! Nice earnings beat; afterhours it is pushing $80!!”
Nov 17, 2025
Bullish — “Select large-cap value names like Cisco, IBM, and Google also continue to show resilience.”
Nov 22, 2025
Bullish — “Still looks beautiful, moving up into the 82 level.”
Dec 4, 2025
Bullish — “It is expected that it will hit $82 — a matter of ‘not if, just when.’”
Dec 5, 2025
Bullish — “The stock is doing fine.”
Dec 8, 2025
High Conviction — “Large option contracts (3,700) playing for $82 strike this week, potentially leading to an overshoot to $84. ‘I am not if, but when on 82.’”
Dec 10, 2025
Neutral/Patient — “Trying to get to the $82 level; characterized as ‘same ol’, same ol’.”
Dec 18, 2025
Neutral/Waiting — “Would love for it to go grab $82, but it is not there yet.”
Dec 19, 2025
Bullish — “Coming up from a breakdown and now has energy…nothing wrong with the stock.”
Jan 5, 2026
Bullish — “Cisco is viewed as a ‘fabulous play’ for the year, though likely to pull back and fill its 74.21 gap.”
Jan 9, 2026
Tactical Pullback — “After breaking $74.21, the stock is expected to target $72.55.”
Jan 14, 2026
Bullish — “Stabilizing at its 100-day average as dip buyers enter.”
Jan 26, 2026
Bullish — “Remains very bullish for the year”
Jan 28, 2026
Bullish — “Had a productive gap up on January 26; very bullish with a price target of 82 and potentially 100.”
Feb 10, 2026
Very Bullish — “’Hot fire flames’; long-term target of 100 for 2026; reaching all-time highs for the first time since 2000.”
Feb 12, 2026
Cautious — “Reported earnings and pulled back after previously getting ‘ahead of its skis’.”
Feb 13, 2026
Bearish Short-Term — “’Nasty’ bearish engulfing candle; likely to go sideways for weeks. Protect to $70.”
Feb 18, 2026
Neutral — “Experienced an ‘IV crush’ and bearish engulfing post-earnings, though expected to be a $100 stock soon.”
Feb 20, 2026
Bullish — “Despite being ‘trounced on earnings,’ remains bullish for the year — viewing current action as a ‘little reset’.”
Mar 13, 2026
Bullish — “Looking resilient and ‘good’ despite general sideways movement.”
Mar 25, 2026
Bullish — “A ‘boomer stock’ and inflationary play for 2026; could see a rotation rally back up to 82.”
Apr 1, 2026
Bullish — “A stock that is not ‘allowed’ to go down.”
Apr 20, 2026
Bullish — “A ‘2026 theme’ play serving as an AI infrastructure backbone; remains very bullish with a good dividend.”
Apr 21, 2026
Very Bullish — “A top pick for the year; described as ‘gorgeous’ with a potential price target of $100 if it can sustain its move above $80.”
Apr 29, 2026
Bullish — “Not allowed to go down; benefiting from government support as a ‘venture capitalist’ infrastructure backbone.”
May 4, 2026
Bullish — “A ‘boomer stock’ and inflationary asset; expected to run higher into its May 13th earnings report.”
May 11, 2026
Very Bullish — “Focus of an earnings play on Wednesday. Extremely bullish due to AI resurgence and US reshoring efforts.”
May 14, 2026
Very Bullish — “Strong Beat — Tagged $122.77 aftermarket; ; next targets projected at $135 (Dec/Jan sell calls against).”
What started as a $72.55 swing long call in October 2025 culminated in a massive earnings beat, with CSCO tagging $122.77 this week — well past the long-held $82 and $100 targets. A truly rewarding conviction call from start to finish!