BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Stock Price

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) had its price target cut by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $210.00 to $178.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Zscaler from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Zscaler from $354.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays set a $220.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.80.

Zscaler Price Performance

Shares of ZS opened at $184.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of -439.52 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.65. Zscaler has a 1-year low of $114.63 and a 1-year high of $336.99.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $850.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.60 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 2.25% and a positive return on equity of 0.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Zscaler has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.080-1.090 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.110 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zscaler will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zscaler

In other Zscaler news, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $263,384.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 46,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,278,146.61. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Adam Geller sold 2,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.53, for a total transaction of $321,491.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,208,079.97. This trade represents a 4.27% 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 worth $1,892,487. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors 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.