Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $168.42, but opened at $161.05. Zscaler shares last traded at $168.6460, with a volume of 414,590 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.38, for a total value of $87,210.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright raised shares of Zscaler from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Zscaler from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on Zscaler from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Zscaler from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.18.

Trending Headlines about Zscaler

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad cybersecurity-sector re-rating lifted Zscaler and other previously underperforming security stocks. The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF also advanced strongly, suggesting investors are buying the group rather than focusing only on ZS. Cybersecurity sector re-rating
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan assigned Zscaler a “buy” or “overweight” view and raised its price target from $205 to $215. The higher target reinforces expectations for additional upside and was a direct bullish catalyst. J.P. Morgan upgrades Zscaler
• Positive Sentiment: Zscaler participated in Deep Cogito’s $43 million Series A financing. The investment provides exposure to a developer of self-improving AI models and supports Zscaler’s broader enterprise-AI positioning, although it is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Deep Cogito financing
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting Zscaler’s quarterly earnings announcement. The company previously exceeded consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, but the upcoming report must validate expectations for continued growth in cloud security and AI-related demand. Zscaler earnings announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore placed Zscaler on its tactical “underperform” list ahead of results, indicating that valuation and elevated growth expectations could create downside risk if the earnings outlook disappoints. Evercore underperform view
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Kevin Rubin sold 503 shares worth approximately $87,210 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale reduced his holdings by about 1.2% and is a modest negative signal, though the planned nature and small size limit its significance. Zscaler CFO stock sale

Zscaler Stock Up 10.0%

The company has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -390.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 100.24 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $155.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.13.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $850.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.14 million. Zscaler had a negative return on equity of 0.37% and a negative net margin of 2.44%.The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zscaler, Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zscaler

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zscaler during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Zscaler during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Zscaler by 92.9% during the 2nd 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, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Zscaler during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 46.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zscaler

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.