Zscaler Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ZS)

04 Mar 2026, 22:17 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 40,282 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,754 put options.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Raj Judge sold 3,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were 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 directly owned 70,394 shares in the company, valued at $16,248,343.08. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Adam Geller sold 1,620 shares of Zscaler stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.79, for a total transaction of $377,119.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,762,413.12. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,350 shares of company stock worth $4,471,509. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zscaler by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,569,357,000 after acquiring an additional 55,521 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Zscaler by 76,352.6% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,750,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,385,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743,787 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Zscaler by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,582,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,945,000 after purchasing an additional 354,763 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Zscaler by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,572,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,576,000 after purchasing an additional 777,414 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Zscaler by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,337,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,774,000 after purchasing an additional 77,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.45% of the company’s stock.

Zscaler Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ ZS traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,990,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,113. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Zscaler has a twelve month low of $140.56 and a twelve month high of $336.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -371.93, a PEG ratio of 210.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.19.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS – Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $815.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $798.92 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 2.25% and a positive return on equity of 0.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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. Analysts anticipate that Zscaler will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Zscaler

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight/“strong buy” stance and a $200 price target, giving the stock a sizable upside from current levels and likely supporting near-term buying interest. Zscaler receives Overweight rating as Wells Fargo initiates coverage
Positive Sentiment: FQ2 2026 results showed revenue of ~$816M (beat) and ARR growth to ~$3.4B, with strong enterprise adoption — fundamentals that validate growth expectations and underpin valuation debates. Zscaler (ZS) Reports Record FQ2 2026 Revenue Driven by Massive Enterprise Adoption
Positive Sentiment: Strategic product and market moves: a national AI & cyber research center with Bharti Airtel in India and expanded AI-driven workspace solutions with TCS broaden addressable market and R&D/talent access in a fast-growing region. Zscaler Airtel AI Research Hub Tests Growth Potential Versus Rising Losses
Positive Sentiment: Market commentators and technical analysts see ZS as oversold and attracting institutional accumulation/short-covering, which can accelerate a rebound if sentiment continues to flip. 2 Bad News Buys: Why Palo Alto and Zscaler Are Screaming Deals (ZS)
Positive Sentiment: Options and block-trade activity suggest larger investors are taking bullish positions, a potential near-term tailwind for the stock. This Is What Whales Are Betting On Zscaler
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst-rating headlines are driving attention — pieces questioning the usefulness of the average brokerage recommendation (ABR) caution investors not to rely solely on consensus ratings. Is It Worth Investing in Zscaler (ZS) Based on Wall Street’s Bullish Views?
Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference (transcript available) — useful for detail on roadmap and guide-color but unlikely to move the stock materially absent new financials or guidance changes. Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) Presents at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 Transcript
Negative Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its expectations for Zscaler’s stock price, a reminder that some sell-side shops are trimming targets and that valuation remains a key risk if growth decelerates. Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Stock Price

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZS has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Zscaler from $360.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Zscaler from $305.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Zscaler from $315.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on shares of Zscaler from $390.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Zscaler in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.92.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Zscaler

Zscaler Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.