** Cisco CSCO.O said on Wednesday it would cut nearly 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at shifting investment toward artificial intelligence and related growth areas

** Co raised its annual revenue forecast after beating Q3 revenue and profit estimates due to a surge in hyperscaler orders

** CSCO shares up nearly 18% at $119.96 premarket

DANCING NEAR THE FIRE

** Morgan Stanley ("Overweight," PT: $120) says there's no major change in order timelines, and its AI revenue outlook suggests many orders will be delivered in the near term

** Given supply chain constraints, hyperscalers are providing greater visibility today, with orders remaining large and lumpy - Morgan Stanley

** Melius Research ("Buy," PT: $145) says "we were pretty floored by this beat and raise, which pushed all the right buttons, ranging from huge AI orders to stability in margins"

** Piper Sandler ("Neutral," PT: $132) says outlook is strong and AI revenue still appears conservative unless there's significant pull-forward demand; the read is positive for AI infrastructure peers, but doesn't support chasing Cisco at current valuations

** Morningstar (Fair Value: $90) says Cisco's AI growth is strong, supported by ample supply and a solid networking and optics portfolio, with good positioning across hyperscale cloud, AI model builders, and sovereign and neocloud deployments