Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Releases FY 2027 Earnings Guidance

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) issued an update on its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 4.860-4.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.700. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.9 billion-$3.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.9 billion. Zscaler also updated its Q1 2027 guidance to 1.150-1.160 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zscaler from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $214.00 price target on shares of Zscaler in a report on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday. FBN Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Zscaler from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Thirty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.10.

Zscaler Price Performance

NASDAQ ZS traded up $5.07 on Thursday, reaching $177.80. 8,161,736 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,349,032. The stock has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a PE ratio of -370.41, a P/E/G ratio of 104.98 and a beta of 0.95. Zscaler has a 12 month low of $114.63 and a 12 month high of $336.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zscaler

In related news, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 503 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.38, for a total transaction of $87,210.14. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Schlossman sold 3,146 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.43, for a total transaction of $397,748.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 69,366 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 16,772 shares of company stock worth $2,139,799 over the last 90 days. 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 Investors Weigh In On Zscaler

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Zscaler by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,572,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,576,000 after buying an additional 777,414 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zscaler by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,941,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,083,000 after buying an additional 741,756 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Zscaler during the 3rd quarter valued at $109,440,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Zscaler by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,582,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,945,000 after acquiring an additional 354,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Zscaler by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,557,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,345,000 after acquiring an additional 315,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.