Cisco in the Zone

Cisco (CSCO Quote) soared 4.5% to a 52-week high as investors geared up for Wednesday's postclose earnings report.

Monday's gain came as the market put in a broad, merger-fueled rally, led by bids for hotel chain Four Seasons (FS Quote) and steak broiler Outback (OSI Quote).

But make no mistake, Cisco shares have been zooming ever since the San Jose, Calif., networking giant boosted financial guidance during last quarter's earnings conference call. Shares are up 44% since trading closed Aug. 8, the day before CEO John Chambers notched up Cisco's fiscal 2007 growth targets.

This time around, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial will be looking for a fiscal first-quarter profit of 29 cents a share on revenue of $7.9 billion.

At midafternoon Monday, Cisco was up $1.03 to $24.80 after earlier hitting a new high at $24.85.