Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,810,000 shares, a growth of 20.6% from the November 30th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Zscaler Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Zscaler stock opened at $184.56 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $196.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.99. Zscaler has a 52 week low of $153.45 and a 52 week high of $259.61. The company has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of -738.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $628.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.51 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 1.58% and a negative return on equity of 0.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zscaler will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Zscaler from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Zscaler to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Zscaler from $205.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Zscaler from $260.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zscaler has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Schlossman sold 1,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.70, for a total value of $260,739.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 105,806 shares in the company, valued at $19,224,950.20. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Syam Nair sold 3,682 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.32, for a total value of $737,578.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 142,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,618,917.12. The trade was a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,683 shares of company stock worth $2,313,619 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Zscaler by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zscaler by 43.1% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Zscaler by 7.1% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Zscaler by 81.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 78,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,071,000 after purchasing an additional 35,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zscaler by 586.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. 46.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zscaler

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.