Local Tech Wire 

Analyst Says Cisco Will Hit Estimates, Stands on 'Buy' Rating

Cisco, bolstered by reports on sales in Europe, should announce earnings of 13 cents a share when it announces quarterly earnings on Tuesday, a Banc of America analyst says.

"Cisco's business from Europe seems to be coming in better than expected, in keeping with other technology and communications equipment bellwethers," wrote analyst Christopher Crespi in a note issued Friday.

At the same time, he reiterated his "buy" rating with a target price of $20.

Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) closed at $13.87 on Friday. It will report earnings on Tuesday after markets close.

Cisco has said sales would remain flat or be slightly lower, due to the slow economy and hard-hit telecommunications spending. Crespi said revenues would hit $4.7 billion for the most recent quarter, a drop of 3.5 percent. He predicted the same earnings and revenues for the spring quarter.

First Boston reiterated its "outperform" rating on Jan. 24. Merrill Lynch reiterated "neutral" on Jan. 7.

But even flat revenues would be good news on Wall Street, according to Sameer Bhasin, an analyst with Okumus Capital. "Cisco is still a bellwether. People just want to know, if Cisco is OK, then maybe everybody else will be OK," he told Reuters.

Cisco: www.cisco.com