Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Issues Q1 2027 Earnings Guidance

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) issued an update on its first quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.150-1.160 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.860. The company issued revenue guidance of $935.0 million-$939.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $925.5 million. Zscaler also updated its FY 2027 guidance to 4.860-4.900 EPS.

Zscaler Stock Up 2.9%

ZS stock traded up $5.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $177.80. The company had a trading volume of 8,161,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,349,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.39. The company has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -370.41, a PEG ratio of 104.98 and a beta of 0.95. Zscaler has a 52 week low of $114.63 and a 52 week high of $336.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Zscaler from $210.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Zscaler from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Evercore set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Thirty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.10.

Insider Transactions at Zscaler

In other news, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 503 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.38, for a total transaction of $87,210.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,090,375.10. This trade represents a 1.22% 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. 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 dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.43, for a total transaction of $397,748.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 69,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,769,943.38. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 16,772 shares of company stock valued at $2,139,799. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Zscaler News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and ARR beat expectations: Fiscal Q4 revenue rose 25% year over year to $898.2 million, exceeding the roughly $877 million consensus estimate. Annual recurring revenue also increased 25% to $3.77 billion, supported by strong large-deal activity, non-seat-based products and the Red Canary acquisition. Zscaler Announces Strong Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings topped estimates: Non-GAAP earnings were $1.19 per diluted share, up from $0.89 a year earlier and above the $1.09 consensus. The company also reported a record 24% non-GAAP operating margin. The reported GAAP loss was $0.02 per share, which likely explains conflicting headlines citing a $0.14 EPS figure. Zscaler stock soars on earnings beat, upbeat guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance exceeded expectations: Zscaler forecast first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $935 million to $939 million, with adjusted EPS of $1.15 to $1.16. Full-year revenue guidance of $3.908 billion to $3.938 billion and ARR guidance of $4.396 billion to $4.426 billion point to continued growth, while management highlighted rising demand for AI and agentic-security tools. Zscaler beats sales expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity positioning remains favorable: Coverage of a Microsoft Exchange vulnerability highlighted Zscaler’s zero-trust platform as a potential tool for helping organizations reduce exposure to emerging threats. Microsoft Exchange Vulnerability and Zscaler
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader software shares also gained as Treasury yields pulled back and investors responded positively to recent technology-sector results, providing an additional tailwind for ZS. Software shares rise
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and restructuring risks remain: Zscaler posted a $3.4 million GAAP net loss for Q4 and announced plans to eliminate approximately 3% of its workforce while reallocating resources toward AI and growth initiatives. Quarterly free-cash-flow margin fell to 7% from 24%, largely because of significantly higher capital expenditures and internal-use software spending. Zscaler Loss Narrows as Revenue Soars

Institutional Trading of Zscaler

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

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.