Truist Financial Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS)

Key Points

• Truist Financial reiterated its “Buy” rating on Zscaler and raised its price target from $200 to $250, implying approximately 17.7% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 34 Buy, seven Hold, and one Sell rating; Zscaler has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.15.
• Zscaler’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.19 versus $1.09 expected and revenue of $898.2 million, up 24.9% year over year.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by research analysts at Truist Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $200.00. Truist Financial's price target indicates a potential upside of 17.68% from the stock's previous close.

ZS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Zscaler from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Zscaler from $214.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Zscaler from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Thirty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zscaler presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.15.

Zscaler Trading Up 0.1%

ZS traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,255,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,360,584. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -546.43, a P/E/G ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $181.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.82. Zscaler has a 52 week low of $114.63 and a 52 week high of $336.99.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $898.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $876.96 million. Zscaler had a positive return on equity of 1.23% and a negative net margin of 1.88%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Zscaler will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jagtar Chaudhry sold 2,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.76, for a total value of $549,751.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 340,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,574,253.36. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 5,957 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.76, for a total value of $1,148,271.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,344,002.12. This trade represents a 12.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $5,610,165. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zscaler

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Zscaler by 2.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 8,273 shares of the company's stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 611 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Zscaler by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 230 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zscaler in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 46.45% of the company's stock.

Zscaler News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor Day guidance reaffirmed: Zscaler maintained its first-quarter and full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, reducing near-term execution concerns. Management also highlighted AI-driven demand, expansion beyond its core user-security business, and a long-term path toward approximately $10 billion in annual recurring revenue. Zscaler Investor Day and fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: Needham lifted its target to $255 and upgraded ZS to Buy; Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $275; Robert W. Baird increased its target to $285; and Wedbush raised its target to $240 while reiterating Outperform. RBC also maintained Outperform with a $236 target. The upgrades suggest analysts see additional upside after the Investor Day presentation.
• Positive Sentiment: AI security opportunity expanded: Zscaler announced a collaboration with IBM and Red Hat to protect private applications during vulnerability windows. The partnership combines Zscaler’s Autonomous Application Shield with remediation tools from IBM and Red Hat, potentially broadening Zscaler’s enterprise reach as companies address AI-enabled cyber threats. Zscaler IBM and Red Hat partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst disagreement remains: BTIG reaffirmed a Neutral rating, while Morgan Stanley raised its target to $185 but kept an Equal Weight rating. Morgan Stanley’s target remains below the current trading level, highlighting valuation and execution concerns ahead of the next earnings report.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor lawsuit inquiry: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Zscaler investors. No allegations or findings were detailed, but such announcements can create headline and legal overhang for the stock. Pomerantz Zscaler investor investigation

Zscaler Company Profile

Zscaler, Inc is a cloud-based cybersecurity company that provides security services designed to help organizations connect users, applications, devices and workloads securely. Its platform is built around a zero-trust security model, which verifies access based on identity, context and policy rather than relying primarily on traditional network perimeters.

The company's offerings include Zscaler Internet Access, which helps secure internet and software-as-a-service access, and Zscaler Private Access, which provides controlled access to private applications without extending an organization's network to remote users.

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