Robert W. Baird Boosts Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Price Target to $230.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised Zscaler’s price target from $220 to $230 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 36.62% upside from the prior close.
• Zscaler exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $898.2 million in revenue and adjusted EPS of $1.19, while revenue grew 24.9% year over year; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $217.33.
• Growth outlook remains mixed: AI-related demand is accelerating, but fiscal 2027 revenue growth is expected to slow to 16.6%-17.5%, while free cash flow fell 65% year over year and the company plans to cut its workforce by about 3%.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 36.62% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $214.00 price target on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Zscaler from $228.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Friday. Thirty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.33.

Zscaler Price Performance

Shares of Zscaler stock traded down $9.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.35. The stock had a trading volume of 3,557,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,350,059. The stock's 50 day moving average is $160.51 and its 200 day moving average is $150.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Zscaler has a twelve month low of $114.63 and a twelve month high of $336.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a PE ratio of -351.38, a PEG ratio of 101.67 and a beta of 0.95.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $898.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.96 million. Zscaler had a negative return on equity of 0.37% and a negative net margin of 2.44%.Zscaler's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Zscaler has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.860-4.900 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.160 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Zscaler will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zscaler

In other Zscaler news, insider Adam Geller sold 2,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.60, for a total value of $345,364.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,187,696.40. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Schlossman sold 3,146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.43, for a total value of $397,748.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 69,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,769,943.38. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,772 shares of company stock valued at $2,139,799. Insiders own 17.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZS. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Zscaler by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Zscaler by 10.9% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Zscaler by 7.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 648 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Zscaler by 2.6% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the company's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Zscaler by 6.1% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 976 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.45% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Zscaler

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Q4 revenue rose 25% year over year to $898.2 million, above the $877.0 million consensus, while adjusted EPS of $1.19 topped estimates of $1.09. Annual recurring revenue also increased 25% to $3.77 billion. Zscaler Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI is emerging as a key growth driver: Management said demand for Security for AI, Agentic SecOps and metered offerings is accelerating, with AI-related bookings and large enterprise deals supporting adoption into fiscal 2027. The company also delivered a record 24% non-GAAP operating margin. ZS Q4 Earnings Call Highlights AI Tailwinds and Fiscal 2027 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remained broadly supportive: Stephens raised its target to $225, while Needham raised its target to $215. Canaccord Genuity, Cantor Fitzgerald, TD Cowen and Rosenblatt reaffirmed positive ratings with targets ranging from $200 to $225.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance was strong but slower: Zscaler forecast Q1 revenue of $935 million to $939 million and adjusted EPS of $1.15 to $1.16, ahead of consensus. Full-year revenue guidance of $3.91 billion to $3.94 billion implies 16.6% to 17.5% growth, a notable deceleration from fiscal 2026’s 25% growth. Zscaler Forecasts Fiscal 2027 Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Cash generation disappointed: Q4 free cash flow fell 65% year over year to $60.8 million, or 7% of revenue, versus $171.9 million previously. The decline reflected substantially higher property, equipment and internal-use software spending, prompting concerns about near-term liquidity and investment efficiency. Zscaler Shares Fall Despite Earnings Beat as Free Cash Flow Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Restructuring highlights execution concerns: Zscaler plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 3% as it reallocates resources toward AI and other growth initiatives. The company also remains GAAP-unprofitable, reporting a Q4 net loss of $3.4 million.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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