To: RetiredNow who wrote (68072 ) 6/16/2005 3:45:21 PM From: RetiredNow Read Replies (1) | Respond to Good news for Cisco:Banc of America Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and $24 price target on Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ). "While many investors continue to perceive Cisco as a macro-economic play, we believe the company is benefiting from several long-term growth trends that are likely to support sustainable revenue growth in the 10% to 12% range." The research firm believes advanced technologies are the most important growth drivers for Cisco explaining, "we believe the advanced technology groups are gaining momentum, likely to deliver mid-20% growth, or 39% of total, over the next few years," and added, "also, we see significant pull-through by VoIP and wireless LAN, which we estimate drives 11% of current sales growth." Banc of America sees Cisco becoming a leading vendor in IP telephony. "Our positive view is reinforced by the company's dominant enterprise presence and IP experience, which we believe will enable the company to compete on a high percentage of VoIP deals. Recent large wins. . .underpin our positive thesis regarding Cisco's positioning, as do recent market share gains--at the expense of incumbents Avaya (nyse: AV - news - people ) and Nortel Networks (nyse: NT - news - people )--and continued success in the market for IP Phones, with the company recently shipping its 5 millionth phone." The research firm concluded: "We view Cisco as a core holding given its growth, profitability, cash flow and valuation." In its coverage of data networking and wireline equipment, Banc of America's top picks are Cisco and Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ), which is rated at "buy" with a $23 price target. Its least favorites are Ciena (nasdaq: CIEN - news - people ) and Lucent Technologies (nyse: LU - news - people ), both rated at "neutral" with $2.50 and $3 price targets, respectively.
