Investing.com -- Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped estimates and better-than-expected guidance for the current quarter as demand for cloud security continued to boost new business wins.
Zscaler shares trade flat in pre-open Friday.
The company reported EPS of $0.48 on revenue of $418.8 million, topping estimates for $0.42 and $411.7M, respectively. Calculated billings grew 40% year-over-year to $482.3M
Looking ahead, the company forecasts adjusted net income per share of approximately $0.49 on revenue of $429M to $431M, compared with estimates for $0.47 on revenue of $426.8M.
For 2023, adjusted net income per share was forecast in a range of $1.63 to $1.64 on revenue of $1.591 billion to $1.592B.
Wedbush analysts said the cybersecurity company delivered "Jokic-like strong results". They hiked the price target by $10 to $160 per share.
"We continue to believe ZS is a top name in this space to own as this cloud cyber security shift accelerates over the next decade as this was an impressive quarter in a murky economic backdrop as the company is in the early days of leading the way on zero trust architecture and protecting cloud workloads," analysts said.
TD Cowen analysts reaffirmed an Outperform rating on ZS shares.
"In our view, despite emerging macro headwinds, ZS occupies a strong competitive position. We believe the company is well-positioned to achieve its longer term goals including ARR of $5B and its targeted model—gross margins of 78%-82%, op margins of 20%-22%, and free cash flow margins of 22%-25%," they said in a note.
Additional reporting by Senad Karaahmetovic