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

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $305.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.07% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Barclays set a $220.00 target price on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Zscaler from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Zscaler from $310.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.92.

Zscaler Stock Performance

Shares of Zscaler stock opened at $154.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.19. Zscaler has a fifty-two week low of $140.56 and a fifty-two week high of $336.99. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -368.26, a P/E/G ratio of 210.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $815.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $798.92 million. Zscaler had a positive return on equity of 0.06% and a negative net margin of 2.25%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Zscaler has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.990-4.020 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zscaler will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jagtar Singh Chaudhry sold 2,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.82, for a total transaction of $656,221.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 347,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,292,352.74. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Adam Geller sold 1,620 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.79, for a total value of $377,119.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,762,413.12. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 19,350 shares of company stock worth $4,471,509 over the last 90 days. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zscaler

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zscaler by 145.7% in the third quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zscaler during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zscaler in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 46.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zscaler News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an “Overweight” rating and a $200 price target, giving the stock meaningful upside from current levels. Zscaler receives Overweight rating as Wells Fargo initiates coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Reported FQ2 2026 results topped estimates: revenue ~$816M (+26% YoY), ARR growth ~25% to ~$3.4B, and EPS ahead of consensus — management set FY26 EPS guidance (3.99–4.02). These fundamentals support renewed investor confidence. Zscaler (ZS) Reports Record FQ2 2026 Revenue Driven by Massive Enterprise Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic AI and partner initiatives: Zscaler and Bharti Airtel launched a national AI & Cyber Threat Research Center in India to accelerate AI‑driven security research and talent development, and Zscaler expanded AI/security platform integrations with TCS (AI‑driven workspace platform). These deals deepen enterprise reach in high‑growth markets. Zscaler Airtel AI Research Hub Tests Growth Potential Versus Rising Losses TCS, Zscaler launch AI-driven workspace platform for enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Zscaler as oversold and potentially a rebound candidate given strong secular cybersecurity demand and institutional accumulation — this narrative can attract value/technical buyers. 2 Bad News Buys: Why Palo Alto and Zscaler Are Screaming Deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor interest/flow signals and options activity are drawing attention (coverage and “whale” option trades), which can amplify moves but are not a directional fundamental change. This Is What Whales Are Betting On Zscaler
• Neutral Sentiment: Zscaler presented at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference — useful for incremental investor color but no single headline change from the event. Zscaler Presents at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous sell‑side firms have trimmed price targets recently (Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, RBC, BMO, Piper Sandler, Needham, Oppenheimer, etc.), signaling more cautious near‑term analyst sentiment despite some buy/overweight calls — this broad re‑rating is a headwind for the stock. Mizuho Cuts Zscaler Price Target (example of broader cuts)

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.