Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Trading Up 5.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) rose 5.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Bank of America now has a $240.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $215.00. Zscaler traded as high as $209.52 and last traded at $208.11. Approximately 977,788 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 1,854,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.45.

ZS has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Remo Canessa sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.32, for a total value of $741,784.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 220,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,197,603.20. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Syam Nair sold 3,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.32, for a total transaction of $737,578.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 142,866 shares in the company, valued at $28,618,917.12. This represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,248 shares of company stock worth $2,052,879. 18.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZS. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Zscaler by 127.4% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 141 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in shares of Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 46.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zscaler Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $196.30 and its 200 day moving average is $191.65. The company has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a PE ratio of -835.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Zscaler Company Profile

Zscaler, Inc operates as a cloud security company worldwide. The company offers Zscaler Internet Access solution that provides users, workloads, IoT, and OT devices secure access to externally managed applications, including software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and internet destinations; and Zscaler Private Access solution, which is designed to provide access to managed applications hosted internally in data centers, and private or public clouds.