CISCO SYSTEMS INC. $25 - Nasdaq symbol CSCO

CISCO SYSTEMS INC. $25 (Nasdaq symbol CSCO; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.1 billion; Market cap: $127.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cisco.com) is buying Metacloud, a privately held California firm whose software helps companies manage data they store on remote servers.

The company didn’t reveal the purchase price. However, earlier this year Cisco earmarked $1 billion for its Intercloud initiative, which aims to deliver cloud computing services through a network of outside companies instead of building its own system. Using partners makes it easier for Cisco to expand to other countries and comply with local laws about data privacy and other online issues.

Cisco is a buy.

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