Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Stock Price

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $228.00 to $224.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ZS. HC Wainwright raised shares of Zscaler from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Zscaler from $280.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank cut their price target on shares of Zscaler from $390.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on shares of Zscaler from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zscaler currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.80.

Zscaler Price Performance

ZS opened at $184.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Zscaler has a 1 year low of $114.63 and a 1 year high of $336.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of -439.52 and a beta of 0.96.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.07. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 2.25% and a positive return on equity of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $850.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $835.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zscaler will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zscaler

In other news, EVP Raj Judge sold 2,488 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 $389,595.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,633,400.54. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Schlossman sold 2,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $354,363.17. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 72,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,335,550.10. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,130 shares of company stock valued at $1,892,487. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zscaler

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 0.7% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 5,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 0.3% during the third quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,731,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 4.6% during the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.45% of the company’s stock.

Zscaler News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zscaler reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $850.5 million, up 25% year over year, and EPS of $1.08, both ahead of estimates, showing continued execution and demand for its cloud security platform. Zscaler Announces Strong Third-Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year fiscal 2026 EPS guidance, signaling confidence in profitability despite ongoing investment in growth and AI security initiatives. ZS Q3 Earnings Call Flags Prudent Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley upgraded Zscaler to Buy from Neutral, citing product-line expansion and improving business momentum, though the firm lowered its price target. B.Riley Upgrades Zscaler (ZS) Rating to Buy Amid Product Line Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Zscaler continued to emphasize AI security as a growth driver, and commentary around record margins and recurring revenue suggests the long-term story remains intact. ZS Q3 Earnings Call Flags Prudent Growth Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Investors reacted to weaker fourth-quarter revenue guidance and a lower free cash flow outlook, suggesting tougher near-term demand conditions and more cautious spending by customers. Zscaler sees downbeat quarterly revenue as competition heats up in cybersecurity market
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports noted that competition is heating up in cybersecurity, which is weighing on sentiment around Zscaler’s ability to sustain rapid growth and premium valuation. Zscaler tumbles as mixed guidance outshines strong Q3 results

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.