What happened
A white-shoe investment bank flagged Zscaler (ZS 1.28%) as a prominent name in the cybersecurity space on Friday, and investors reacted accordingly. They traded the stock up by more than 3%, which was a notably better performance than the 0.3% decline of the S&P 500 index on the day. The shares are up another 3% in pre-market trading on Monday morning at 6:16 am.
So what
Morgan Stanley was the entity behind the boost. In a new analyst report, the company identified three prominent cybersecurity stocks as being particularly noteworthy. Zscaler was No. 1, accompanied by Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft.
Morgan Stanley wrote in the report that in a recent survey it conducted, Zscaler had gained the most market share by far, out of any security access service edge (SASE) specialist. That momentum is set to build, as most survey respondents indicated heavier SASE demand over the coming one-year period. The investment bank is also anticipating higher take-up from public-sector clients, with deals in the eight-figure range.
With those breezy tailwinds behind it, Morgan Stanley lifted its price target on Zscaler. The company feels the cybersecurity specialist is now worth $155 per share, up from its previous level of $145.
Now what
Interestingly, despite the bullish language it used in describing Zscaler and its prospects, Morgan Stanley is only lukewarm on the stock. It maintained its equal-weight (read: hold) recommendation on the company's shares. The story is quite different for both Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft; the investment bank is more positive about their prospects, as it has tagged the pair with buy designations.
