Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Stock Price

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $260.00 to $185.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.86% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Zscaler from $354.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Zscaler from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Zscaler from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $228.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.37.

Zscaler Trading Down 12.2%

Shares of ZS opened at $146.99 on Friday. Zscaler has a twelve month low of $140.56 and a twelve month high of $336.99. The stock has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of -349.98, a P/E/G ratio of 299.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $198.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.06.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $815.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $798.92 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 2.25% and a positive return on equity of 0.06%. Zscaler’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Zscaler has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.990-4.020 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zscaler will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zscaler

In other news, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.82, for a total value of $762,398.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 48,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,116,522.02. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Raj Judge sold 3,438 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.82, for a total transaction of $793,559.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 70,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,248,343.08. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,350 shares of company stock valued at $4,471,509. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Zscaler by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 8.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 9.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zscaler in the second quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Zscaler by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 46.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Zscaler News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat: adjusted EPS $1.01 vs. $0.89 est., revenue $815.8M vs. ~$799M est., and ARR grew ~25% year/year — signals demand momentum. GlobeNewswire: Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pitching AI security growth and new initiatives (AI Guard, agentic security, India AI/Cyber center with Airtel) as durable secular drivers that expand TAM beyond seat-based SaaS. CFO Interview Airtel AI Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Management issued updated forward guidance and commentary (Q3 EPS range and FY EPS range were provided), creating mixed signals that markets are parsing. Earnings Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Executives (CEO & CFO) gave interviews and the full call transcript is available — useful for investors wanting detail on churn, acquisitions and how AI monetization will scale. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Wider GAAP loss and higher spending: the company posted a larger net loss driven by increased sales, marketing and R&D, which pressured investor sentiment. Reuters: Wider Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/uncertain revenue outlook commentary: some outlets reported the company lowered aspects of its revenue outlook, creating confusion and weighing on the stock despite EPS beats. Benzinga: Revenue Guidance Report
• Negative Sentiment: Broad analyst price‑target cuts today from multiple firms (Canaccord, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Berenberg, Needham, and others) have amplified selling pressure even as many kept “buy/outperform” stances — the cuts compress perception of near‑term upside. MarketScreener: Analyst Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: investors appear to be focusing on margin/expense trajectory, competitive pressure and near-term revenue clarity rather than the company’s AI growth story — producing the stock decline. Seeking Alpha: Market Reaction

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.