Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Issues Q1 2027 Earnings Guidance

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) issued an update on its first quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.150-1.160 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.860. The company issued revenue guidance of $935.0 million-$939.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $925.5 million. Zscaler also updated its FY 2027 guidance to 4.860-4.900 EPS.

Zscaler Stock Performance

Shares of Zscaler stock traded up $5.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $177.80. 8,161,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,349,032. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -370.41, a P/E/G ratio of 104.98 and a beta of 0.95. Zscaler has a one year low of $114.63 and a one year high of $336.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ZS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on Zscaler from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Zscaler from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $214.00 price objective on shares of Zscaler in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Thirty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin Rubin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.22, for a total transaction of $372,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,204,942.22. This trade represents a 6.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Adam Geller sold 2,817 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.60, for a total value of $345,364.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,314 shares in the company, valued at $5,187,696.40. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,772 shares of company stock worth $2,139,799. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Zscaler News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and ARR beat expectations: Fiscal Q4 revenue rose 25% year over year to $898.2 million, exceeding the roughly $877 million consensus estimate. Annual recurring revenue also increased 25% to $3.77 billion, supported by strong large-deal activity, non-seat-based products and the Red Canary acquisition. Zscaler Announces Strong Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings topped estimates: Non-GAAP earnings were $1.19 per diluted share, up from $0.89 a year earlier and above the $1.09 consensus. The company also reported a record 24% non-GAAP operating margin. The reported GAAP loss was $0.02 per share, which likely explains conflicting headlines citing a $0.14 EPS figure. Zscaler stock soars on earnings beat, upbeat guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance exceeded expectations: Zscaler forecast first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $935 million to $939 million, with adjusted EPS of $1.15 to $1.16. Full-year revenue guidance of $3.908 billion to $3.938 billion and ARR guidance of $4.396 billion to $4.426 billion point to continued growth, while management highlighted rising demand for AI and agentic-security tools. Zscaler beats sales expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity positioning remains favorable: Coverage of a Microsoft Exchange vulnerability highlighted Zscaler’s zero-trust platform as a potential tool for helping organizations reduce exposure to emerging threats. Microsoft Exchange Vulnerability and Zscaler
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader software shares also gained as Treasury yields pulled back and investors responded positively to recent technology-sector results, providing an additional tailwind for ZS. Software shares rise
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and restructuring risks remain: Zscaler posted a $3.4 million GAAP net loss for Q4 and announced plans to eliminate approximately 3% of its workforce while reallocating resources toward AI and growth initiatives. Quarterly free-cash-flow margin fell to 7% from 24%, largely because of significantly higher capital expenditures and internal-use software spending. Zscaler Loss Narrows as Revenue Soars

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zscaler

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZS. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Zscaler by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 5,840 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Zscaler by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,469,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,555,000 after purchasing an additional 178,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,141,000 after purchasing an additional 22,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.45% of the company’s stock.

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.