Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. Approximately 2,370,446 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 3,184,495 shares.The stock last traded at $123.5680 and had previously closed at $126.41.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ZS. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Zscaler from $280.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Zscaler from $265.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Zscaler from $223.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.08.

Insider Activity at Zscaler

In other news, CEO Jagtar Singh Chaudhry sold 1,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $303,941.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 345,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,166,986.44. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Raj Judge sold 2,488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $389,595.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,633,400.54. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,130 shares of company stock worth $1,892,487. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zscaler News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff, Zscaler reported strong fiscal Q3 results with revenue growth of about 25% year over year and earnings that beat estimates, which some analysts say supports the long-term cybersecurity demand story.
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary argues the market may be overreacting to the guidance cut, pointing to Zscaler’s strong net retention and its role in AI-driven security workflows as reasons the stock could eventually recover. MarketBeat Zscaler page
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Zscaler from “strong sell” to “hold,” suggesting the recent drop may have improved the risk/reward profile, but it does not signal a clear bullish turn.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss broader cybersecurity weakness tied to Google’s AI security platform launch and changing investor sentiment around software, which adds context but is not Zscaler-specific.
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street’s main concern is the disappointing forward guidance, which overshadowed the earnings beat and raised questions about near-term growth and sales execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of class-action and securities-fraud investigations may add overhang to the stock until management can rebuild confidence. Investor alert article

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zscaler

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Zscaler by 19.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Zscaler by 8.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Zscaler by 9.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Zscaler in the second quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Zscaler in the second quarter valued at $3,019,000. 46.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zscaler Stock Up 7.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $144.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -291.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.07. Zscaler had a negative return on equity of 0.37% and a negative net margin of 2.44%.The business had revenue of $850.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Zscaler has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.080-1.090 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.110 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zscaler, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Zscaler Company Profile

Zscaler is a cloud security company that delivers a cloud-native platform to protect users, applications and data as organizations move away from traditional, network-centric security architectures. The company focuses on a zero trust approach that assumes no implicit trust for users or devices, providing secure access to the internet, SaaS applications and private applications regardless of where users are located. Zscaler positions its services as an alternative to legacy appliances and site-centric VPNs, aiming to simplify security while enabling modern, distributed workforces.

Key offerings are built around the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, a multi-tenant cloud platform that enforces security and access policies in-line.