IREN (NASDAQ:IREN – Get Free Report) and Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for IREN and Zscaler, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| IREN | 1 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 2.73 |
| Zscaler | 1 | 8 | 36 | 0 | 2.78 |
IREN currently has a consensus target price of $64.57, indicating a potential upside of 209.84%. Zscaler has a consensus target price of $236.65, indicating a potential upside of 22.12%. Given IREN’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe IREN is more favorable than Zscaler.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares IREN and Zscaler”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| IREN | $695.01 million | 11.82 | -$702.62 million | ($4.08) | -5.11 |
| Zscaler | $3.35 billion | 9.42 | -$63.18 million | ($0.39) | -496.90 |
Zscaler has higher revenue and earnings than IREN. Zscaler is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IREN, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares IREN and Zscaler’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| IREN | -194.36% | -16.36% | -4.67% |
| Zscaler | -1.88% | 1.23% | 0.40% |
Risk and Volatility
IREN has a beta of 4.33, meaning that its share price is 333% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zscaler has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
41.1% of IREN shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.5% of Zscaler shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of IREN shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of Zscaler shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Zscaler beats IREN on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About IREN
IREN Limited, formerly known as Iris Energy, develops and operates data centers for bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence cloud services. Its AI business provides access to high-performance computing infrastructure, including GPU-based services, for customers with demanding computing needs. Founded in Australia in 2018 by brothers Daniel and Will Roberts, the company has expanded its data-center operations into North America, including locations in British Columbia, Canada, and Texas. IREN has emphasized developing facilities with access to renewable energy.
About Zscaler
Zscaler, Inc. is a cloud security company that provides services designed to help organizations protect users, applications, and data. Its platform, the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, connects users and devices to applications while applying security controls, rather than relying on traditional network boundaries. The company’s offerings include Zscaler Internet Access for securing internet and software-as-a-service traffic, and Zscaler Private Access for providing secure access to private applications.
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