Shares of Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) were under heavy selling pressure late last week, falling as much as 6.2% to a session low of $29.61 even though the company reported fiscal first-quarter results that beat Wall Street's estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The problem? The network equipment giant spooked investors with weak guidance for the fiscal second quarter.

But does the guidance justify the punishment? If you recall, Cisco in July basically telegraphed the level of weakness within the telecom sector by issuing a combination of mixed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and downbeat order metrics. Cisco hinted that telecommunication companies such as AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) and Comcast Communications (NYSE: CMCSA) were delaying purchases, and in some cases, not buying anything at all. These headwinds culminated on what Cisco announced on November 16.