This One Tech Stock Is Crushing the Entire Sector. Should You Invest?

The S&P 500 technology sector was down 4.8% over the past week, and just about every one of the 69 stocks in the sector was also in the red over the week. (Just two other stocks in the sector were up for the week, but each is up less than 1%.)

One company, however, has soared over the last five trading days and is up about 7.9%. That would be networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO).

What's going on? And should you invest in this tech stock?

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Cisco saw strong results in fiscal 2026's Q1

Cisco reported its fiscal first quarter results on Nov. 12, and they were solid. The company saw revenue rise 8% over the same period last year, to $14.9 billion, while Wall Street expected $14.8 billion in revenue. Earnings of $1 a share were 10% higher than a year ago and $0.02 more than analysts predicted.

Best of all, AI infrastructure orders from hyperscaler customers came in at $1.3 billion, and the company expects over $3 billion in revenue from these customers this year. That's a significant acceleration in the hotly contested hyperscaler infrastructure market.

Hyperscalers are large-scale cloud service providers that offer vast computing, storage, and networking resources to handle enormous workloads and data volumes. They can rapidly scale their operations up to meet the demands of millions or even billions of users.

Cisco's stock is approaching a peak

Older readers -- those who were watching the market in the late 1990s -- will remember that Cisco's stock was a darling amid the tech stock mania of that time. Then, the manufacturer of Ethernet switches and routers was considered a pick-and-shovel play on the growth of the internet. Today, it's growing into the same niche with the AI investment boom.

Cisco's stock soared from the mid-1990s through early 2000. It then fell dramatically back to earth when the internet-related market bubble burst. But its recent surge -- the stock is up 31% this year and 10% over the past month -- has brought the price back near the lofty peak it hit in March 2000. The stock's all-time high was $80.06, which it touched on March 27, 2000. It's currently trading above $78.

More upside for Cisco?

And Wall Street clearly sees more upside. After the recent earnings announcement, analysts scrambled to raise their price targets for the stock. Morgan Stanley ratcheted its price target from $77 to $82, while Bank of America raised its target to $95 from its previous target of $85. That new price goal implies the stock will rise 21%.

Despite Cisco's price plummet from early 2000 through late 2002, the company has hung around, and the stock has slowly crept back up. If the company can continue to compete in the hyperscaler equipment space with rivals like Arista Networks and Nvidia, it may well be worth an investment.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Matthew Benjamin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Arista Networks, Cisco Systems, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.