Nasdaq Composite Index Closes Slightly Up, Driven by Tech Stocks
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 3 days ago
0mins
Source: seekingalpha
- Strong Tech Performance: The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.19% on Friday, primarily driven by tech stocks, with Qualcomm (QCOM) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rising due to positive talks with Iran, indicating a renewed market confidence in the tech sector.
- Weekly Leaders: Over the past week, Arm Holdings (ARM) and Qualcomm (QCOM) surged 45.57% and 18.09%, respectively, becoming the top gainers on Nasdaq, reflecting strong investor interest and optimistic market sentiment regarding their future growth prospects.
- Major Decliners: Despite Intuit (INTU) exceeding third-quarter expectations and raising its full-year outlook, its stock plummeted 18.58%, highlighting market concerns about its future performance, which negatively impacted the overall tech, consumer, and healthcare sectors.
- Market Dynamics Analysis: Four out of the top five gainers on Nasdaq this week were from the tech sector, underscoring the dominance of technology stocks in the current market environment, while declines in Walmart (WMT) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) reflect challenges faced by the retail and healthcare industries.
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Analyst Views on ZS
Wall Street analysts forecast ZS stock price to rise
30 Analyst Rating
24 Buy
6 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 182.370
Low
260.00
Averages
325.62
High
390.00
Current: 182.370
Low
260.00
Averages
325.62
High
390.00
About ZS
Zscaler, Inc. is a cloud security company. The Company has developed a platform incorporating core security functionalities needed to enable fast and secure access to cloud resources based on identity, context and an organization's policies. Its Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange is a cloud-native platform that securely connects users, devices, applications and workloads, including artificial intelligence (AI) agents, without relying on hub-and-spoke network architecture and firewall-centric security. It delivers its solutions using a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model and sells subscriptions to customers to access its cloud platform, together with related support services. Its services include Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), and Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX). ZIA provides secure access to externally managed applications, including SaaS applications and internet destinations, regardless of device, location or network.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Optimistic Outlook: The company’s EPS guidance for the next quarter exceeds analyst expectations, and the full-year EPS guidance is also positive, demonstrating management's confidence in future growth, which may attract more investor interest.
- Stable Market Expectations: This quarter, the market anticipates Zscaler's revenue to grow by 23.2% year-on-year, aligning with last year's 22.6% increase, and analysts' sustained optimism is reflected in the reaffirmation of estimates over the past 30 days.
- Strong Stock Performance: Zscaler's stock has surged 35.6% over the past month, outperforming the cybersecurity sector's average increase of 10%, with the current share price at $181.92 and an analyst price target of $223.39, indicating a strong buy signal.
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- Technology Enhancement: Symmetry Systems specializes in mapping how different identities, such as employees or AI agents, connect to enterprise applications and data, which will strengthen Zscaler's security platform by improving governance over AI interactions with sensitive information, thereby enhancing customer trust.
- Analyst Optimism: Several analysts raised their price targets for Zscaler, with KeyBanc increasing its target from $160 to $190, reflecting strong confidence in Zscaler's channel checks and indicating optimistic market expectations for its future growth.
- Market Volatility: Despite a 17.8% decline since the beginning of the year, Zscaler's stock is trading at $181.41, which is 46.1% below its 52-week high of $336.27, suggesting a reassessment of its long-term value by the market.
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- Significant Market Value Decline: The sale resulted in a $37.47 million decrease in monday.com's quarter-end position value, reflecting a 73% drop in stock price over the past year, significantly underperforming the S&P 500's 28% gain, highlighting market concerns about its prospects.
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See More
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- Revenue Beat: Zscaler reported revenues of $815.8 million last quarter, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 25.9%, which not only surpassed analyst expectations but also indicates strong market performance, likely driving further stock price appreciation.
- Optimistic Outlook: The company’s EPS guidance for the next quarter exceeds analyst expectations, and the full-year EPS guidance is also positive, demonstrating management's confidence in future growth, which may attract more investor interest.
- Stable Market Expectations: This quarter, the market anticipates Zscaler's revenue to grow by 23.2% year-on-year, aligning with last year's 22.6% increase, and analysts' sustained optimism is reflected in the reaffirmation of estimates over the past 30 days.
- Strong Stock Performance: Zscaler's stock has surged 35.6% over the past month, outperforming the cybersecurity sector's average increase of 10%, with the current share price at $181.92 and an analyst price target of $223.39, indicating a strong buy signal.
See More
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- Earnings Announcement: Zscaler is set to announce its Q3 earnings on May 26, with consensus EPS estimate at $1.01, reflecting a 20.2% year-over-year growth, and revenue estimate at $835.66 million, indicating a 23.2% increase, showcasing robust growth momentum.
- Strong Historical Performance: Over the past two years, Zscaler has consistently beaten EPS and revenue estimates 100% of the time, which not only boosts market confidence but also provides investors with a stable return outlook.
- Positive Estimate Revisions: In the last three months, EPS estimates have seen 40 upward revisions and no downward adjustments, while revenue estimates have experienced 35 upward revisions and one downward, indicating analysts' optimistic outlook on the company's future performance, potentially driving stock price increases.
- Acquisition Activity: Zscaler's announcement to acquire Symmetry Systems further solidifies its competitive position in the cloud security sector, expected to create new growth opportunities and enhance market share.
See More
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- Salesforce Earnings Outlook: Salesforce is set to report earnings on Wednesday, with market concerns about its AI business still prevalent; analysts expect revenue of $11.05 billion and EPS of $3.12, and strong revenue growth could alleviate worries about slowing growth in its legacy business.
- Costco Membership Renewal Challenges: Costco will report earnings on Thursday, with expected revenue of $69.73 billion and EPS of $4.93; while high oil prices may pressure profit margins, its membership model and bulk selling strategy are likely to attract consumers, especially during periods of rising gas prices.
- Economic Data Focus: The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index will be released on Thursday, with a year-over-year increase expected at 3.8% and a core increase of 3.3%, which will influence the Federal Reserve's rate hike decisions, leaving the market uncertain about future rate changes.
- Investor Conference Season: This week marks the start of investor conference season, with Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and others attending the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, where analyst questions may reveal insights into market perceptions of company futures, making it a key event to watch.
See More
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- Acquisition Intent: Zscaler announced its intent to acquire Symmetry Systems to enhance its AI-driven data security capabilities, resulting in a 5.9% stock price increase in the afternoon session, indicating positive market reception of this strategic move.
- Technology Enhancement: Symmetry Systems specializes in mapping how different identities, such as employees or AI agents, connect to enterprise applications and data, which will strengthen Zscaler's security platform by improving governance over AI interactions with sensitive information, thereby enhancing customer trust.
- Analyst Optimism: Several analysts raised their price targets for Zscaler, with KeyBanc increasing its target from $160 to $190, reflecting strong confidence in Zscaler's channel checks and indicating optimistic market expectations for its future growth.
- Market Volatility: Despite a 17.8% decline since the beginning of the year, Zscaler's stock is trading at $181.41, which is 46.1% below its 52-week high of $336.27, suggesting a reassessment of its long-term value by the market.
See More
ShawSpring Partners Exits Entire Position in monday.com Amid 73% Stock Drop
- Complete Exit: On May 14, 2026, ShawSpring Partners disclosed in an SEC filing that it sold its entire position of 253,959 shares in monday.com, with an estimated transaction value of $24.37 million, indicating a pessimistic outlook on the company's future performance.
- Significant Market Value Decline: The sale resulted in a $37.47 million decrease in monday.com's quarter-end position value, reflecting a 73% drop in stock price over the past year, significantly underperforming the S&P 500's 28% gain, highlighting market concerns about its prospects.
- Strong Performance Growth: Despite the steep decline in stock price, monday.com reported a 24% year-over-year revenue increase to $351.3 million in Q1, with GAAP operating income doubling to $19.8 million, suggesting that the company's fundamentals remain robust and may attract value investors.
- Aggressive Buyback Plan: The company authorized a stock repurchase of approximately $553 million during the quarter, demonstrating management's confidence in future growth, as it continues to enhance profitability and market share despite intense competition.
See More
Uber Considers Full Takeover of Delivery Hero
- Uber Acquisition Intent: Uber (UBER) raised its stake in Delivery Hero (DELHY) this week and is working with advisers to evaluate a full takeover, a move that could significantly enhance its competitive position in the food delivery market.
- Parker Hannifin Acquisition: Parker Hannifin (PH) is set to acquire CIRCOR International's Commercial and Defense Aerospace business for $2.55 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis, which will further solidify its market position in the aerospace sector.
- Zscaler Acquires Symmetry: Zscaler (ZS) announced the acquisition of privately held Symmetry Systems to boost its artificial intelligence capabilities; while terms of the deal were not disclosed, it is expected to close in the coming days, reflecting its commitment to technological innovation.
- Apartment Merger: Equity Residential (EQR) and AvalonBay Communities (AVB) agreed to an all-stock merger, creating a major U.S. rental housing company with approximately $52 billion in equity market value and over 180,000 apartment units, which will further consolidate market resources.
See More
