UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises PT on Cisco Systems

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan & Co. reiterated its Neutral rating on Cisco Systems

, and slightly raised its price target from $18.00 to $19.00. J.P. Morgan noted, “We attended Cisco's FAC in NYC last Friday. Management very clearly stated their view that boxes are out and software and services are the future. Plenty of time was spent talking about SDN though few product and/or operational details were provided. Even if the company does provide further detail we suspect that hard evidence of success will be needed before the market will reflate the company's multiple. In the meantime we expect weaker macro to pressure 2013 earnings. Cisco also reaffirmed its three to five year revenue and EPS growth targets and provided a gross margin target that implies some softness longer term largely offset by lower OpEx. We maintain our Neutral rating.” Cisco Systems closed on Friday at $19.34.