Zscaler could benefit from the growth of an emerging form of cybersecurity, according to Barclays. The firm upgraded the cloud security stock to overweight from equal weight and upgraded its price target to $190 from $176. Barclays’ forecast implies nearly 24% upside from Friday’s $153.30 close. Analyst Saket Kalia said the company’s growing Zscaler for Workloads platform as well as a growth opportunity in the secure access service edge (SASE) cybersecurity segment underpinned the upgrade. “[G]iven these trends, we raise our FY24 billings estimate and extend our model out to FY26E with 20% billings growth and healthy EBIT/FCF margin expansion – with our increased confidence in long-term market growth, we’re now able to shift our valuation from sales to FCF [free cash flow],” Kalia said. The analyst added that growth in SASE cybersecurity could grow to become the same size or larger than regular network security protocols in three years, which could help propel Zscaler going forward. “We believe ZS will continue to gain share in SASE given its first-mover advantage (particularly in secure web gateway and zero trust network access), expansive data center footprint, and established presence with large enterprise customers,” Kalia said. Zscaler has been on a tear this year, rallying more than 46%. ZS YTD mountain Zscaler in 2023 — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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