Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $565,000 in Zscaler, Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. has made a noteworthy investment in Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) during the fourth quarter. The institutional investor acquired a new stake, buying approximately 3,130 shares of Zscaler, valuing the total investment at around $565,000.

In addition to Everence, several other hedge funds have recently adjusted their stakes in Zscaler. For instance, Quest Partners LLC took a new investment in Zscaler worth $28,000 during the second quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC also acquired a new stake valued at $31,000 in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC significantly increased its holdings by 18,500.0% during the third quarter, bringing its total ownership to 186 shares, now valued at $32,000 after adding 185 more shares in the last quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Versant Capital Management Inc. raised their stake in Zscaler by 136.8%, now owning 180 shares worth $32,000 after buying an additional 104 shares. Modus Advisors LLC similarly acquired a new position in Zscaler valued at about $36,000. Currently, hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively hold 46.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zscaler

Further developments include insider transactions at Zscaler. For instance, on December 17, insider Syam Nair sold 3,682 shares at an average price of $200.32, totaling approximately $737,578. Following this sale, he now owns 142,866 shares valued at around $28.6 million, marking a 2.51% decrease in his ownership.

Similarly, insider Robert Schlossman sold 1,435 shares on October 9 at an average price of $181.70, resulting in a transaction amount of about $260,739.50. After this sale, he holds 105,806 shares worth approximately $19.22 million, reflecting a 1.34% decrease in his total position. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold 11,683 shares, totaling $2.31 million. Currently, insiders own 18.10% of the stock.

Zscaler's Stock Performance

Zscaler's shares opened at $185.84 on the last trading day, with a market cap of $28.52 billion. The company has a P/E ratio of -743.36 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has experienced a 52-week range with a low of $153.45 and a high of $259.61. As for moving averages, the 50-day average is $196.66, while the 200-day average stands at $187.94.

The last quarterly earnings results for Zscaler were released on December 2, where the company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.77, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.63 by $0.14. The firm's revenue for the period was $628 million, outperforming estimates of $605.51 million. However, Zscaler reported a negative return on equity of 0.75% with a negative net margin of 1.58%. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue grew by 26.4%. Analysts predict a further EPS decline, estimating -0.24 for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Recommendations

Recent comments from several brokerages regarding Zscaler have resulted in updates to price targets. Deutsche Bank raised its price objective from $200.00 to $225.00 while maintaining a “buy” rating in their December 3 report. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded their rating to “hold” on November 18. BTIG Research lifted its target from $205.00 to $238.00, again giving a “buy” rating on November 27. Canaccord Genuity also boosted their price target from $220.00 to $230.00, affirming a “buy” rating on December 3.

Overall, 11 analysts currently rate Zscaler with a hold, while 23 have issued buy ratings. According to MarketBeat.com, Zscaler has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $224.84.

About Zscaler

Zscaler, Inc. is a cloud security company operating worldwide. The company provides the Zscaler Internet Access solution, which ensures secure access for users, workloads, IoT, and OT devices to managed applications and internet destinations. They also offer the Zscaler Private Access solution, enabling access to managed applications hosted in data centers or clouds.

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