Sunny Side Up at Cisco

Cisco (CSCO Quote) watchers see little reason for worry.

The San Jose, Calif., Internet-gear maker is set to release its fiscal first-quarter earnings and share its business outlook after trading closes Wednesday. And some analysts who have checked the status of the tech giant's numerous sales channels have pronounced the company flightworthy.

"We believe Cisco has a good shot of growing at the upper half of its 10%-15% organic growth rate guidance," UBS analyst Nikos Theodosopoulos wrote in a research note Tuesday.

Theodosopoulos' confidence is inspired by what he calls market-share gains in areas like new-generation office-phone systems and in its core business of selling the routing and switching equipment that is the basic infrastructure of the Net.

Others see similar strengths, which are presumably part of the same big bright picture.

"We observed improving order momentum on a month-to-month basis as the quarter closed," RBC analyst Mark Sue wrote recently.

All the cylinder-firing, smooth-running reports, however, come as no surprise to investors who have sent the stock up nearly 50% since August, when CEO John Chambers raised sales guidance. Shares hit one 52-week high Monday and another Tuesday, when they touched $25 for the first time in two years.

Analysts are looking for Cisco to post an adjusted profit of 29 cents a share on $7.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal first quarter.