• Erste Group analyst Hans Engel said the company's quarterly guidance is conservative and therefore is achievable.
• According to Fiscal consensus, the networking giant is expected to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.98 and revenue of $14.78 billion. 
• The stock has gained about 25% this year.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) stock is currently trading shy of its 52-week high of $74.84, set earlier this month, as it inches toward its dot-com bubble peak ($82). The rising retail interest in Cisco stock has come ahead of the company's quarterly results due after the market close on Wednesday.

What Analysts Model For Cisco's Q1

According to Fiscal consensus, the networking giant is expected to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.98 and revenue of $14.78 billion. This compares to the year-ago EPS and revenue of $0.91 and $13.84 billion, respectively.

Cisco's guidance, issued in mid-August, calls for adjusted EPS of $0.97-$0.99 and revenue in the range of $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion.

While upgrading Cisco stock to 'Buy' from 'Hold' on Monday, Erste Group analyst Hans Engel said the company's quarterly guidance is conservative and therefore is achievable, according to the summary of the note on the Fly. The analyst believes that the company's operating margin and its return on equity will remain above average.

Traders may also focus on whether the company updates its full-year outlook, which currently models adjusted EPS of $4-$4.26 and revenue of $59 billion to $60 billion. Engel termed the guidance as“optimistic.”  The focus will also be on artificial intelligence (AI)-related gain.

Huawei's Loss, Cisco's Gain?

Cisco's stock may also benefit from another headline. A Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, stated late Monday that the European Commission is considering asking European Union (EU) member companies to phase out Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE from their networks.

EC Vice President Henna Virkkunen is reportedly planning to implement the commission's 2020 recommendation to avoid high-risk vendors and make that a legal requirement. It was also considering dissuading non-EU countries from sourcing from Chinese vendors by freezing“Global Gateway” funding for nations that do not comply with the diktat.

If implemented, this could prove beneficial for U.S. vendors, such as Cisco.

What Retail Feels About Cisco Systems

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Cisco stock shifted to 'bullish' by early Tuesday, up from 'bearish' the day before. The message volume increased, yet only to 'normal' levels.

A bullish watcher predicts that the stock will move very little after earnings but expects it to cross $80 by the end of the year.

According to Koyfin, the average analysts' price target for the stock is $76.96, implying nearly 7% upside from the closing price on Monday. The stock has gained about 25% this year.

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