What's leading the sharp rally in Cisco on Thursday and what is the near-term outlook for the stock?

[Grace A]

[Ignatius Bose]

Shares of Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) rallied more than 5-percent on Thursday following the company’s robust fiscal third-quarter earnings announcement late on Wednesday, topping analysts’ forecasts both in terms of earnings and revenue. The company’s net income of $3.04 billion or 69 cents a share was 13 percent higher compared to the $2.69 billion at 56 cents a share which the company delivered a year back.  The company’s adjusted earnings of 78 cents a share came in higher than market estimates of 77 cents while the company’s revenue growth of 4 percent; from $12.46 billion last year to $12.96 billion also beat Street expectations of $12.89 billion.

On charts, the near-term resistance for Cisco is at $56.00, a close above which prices could topple the all-time April highs of $57.53 and surge to $65.00. On the downside, the stock is likely to find support at $50.00-52.00. At 3.45 PM GMT on Thursday, shares of Cisco were trading at $55.59, up 5.95 percent for the session.