Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Earns “Outperform” Rating from BNP Paribas Exane

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $230.00. BNP Paribas Exane’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.41% from the company’s current price.

ZS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on Zscaler from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Zscaler in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Zscaler from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Zscaler from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zscaler currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.49.

Zscaler Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZS traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,490,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,361,926. Zscaler has a 12 month low of $114.63 and a 12 month high of $336.99. 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 has a market capitalization of $34.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -545.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.82.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $898.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.96 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 1.88% and a positive return on equity of 1.23%. Zscaler’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zscaler will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Adam Geller sold 661 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $132,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,661,600. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jagtar Chaudhry sold 2,852 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.76, for a total value of $549,751.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 340,186 shares in the company, valued at $65,574,253.36. This represents a 0.83% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $5,610,165. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zscaler during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Zscaler during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zscaler by 92.9% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 45.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 46.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zscaler News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broad analyst upgrades: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $275, Robert W. Baird to $285, Needham to $255, Truist to $250, JPMorgan to $245, Wedbush to $240 and RBC to $236. Most firms maintained bullish ratings, citing Zscaler’s growth opportunity and AI-security demand. Wall Street sees 29% upside for Zscaler as eight firms raise price targets
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cross-selling provide growth catalysts: Analysts said Zscaler’s expanded disclosures, new customer entry points, sales investments and AI-security offerings could support its long-term recurring-revenue ambitions, including an ARR target of roughly $8 billion or more by fiscal 2031. Zscaler on Track as AI, Sales Push Expand Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance reaffirmed: Management maintained its first-quarter and full-year fiscal 2027 outlook, reducing concerns about near-term execution and reinforcing its positioning as a cybersecurity platform for the AI era. Zscaler Hosts 2026 Investor Day
• Positive Sentiment: IBM and Red Hat partnership: Zscaler will combine its Autonomous Application Shield with IBM and Red Hat tools to protect private applications from active and AI-powered exploits, potentially expanding enterprise adoption. Zscaler Unveils New Private App Security Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst disagreement remains: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $185 but retained an equal-weight rating, while BTIG reaffirmed neutral. This highlights valuation and execution concerns despite the broader bullish consensus.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: Pomerantz LLP is investigating potential claims on behalf of Zscaler investors. No allegations have been proven, but the investigation creates a reputational and headline risk. Pomerantz Investor Alert

About Zscaler

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.