Zscaler reported earnings last night, and CrowdStrike's report is due out tonight
Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS) stock is off by 0.5% to trade at $191 today, despite the company's better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and strong annual profit and revenue forecasts. Instead, rising quarterly expenses are weighing, as the cloud security name's operating costs jumped by roughly 24% to $431.4 million just this past quarter. Pulling back from last session's 52-week high of $195.07, ZS is up 66.8% since the start of the year.
Zscaler stock is already off its session lows of $182 today, thanks to no fewer than 13 price-target hikes, the highest coming from Needham to $225. The buzz is drawing options traders too, with 26,000 calls and 24,000 puts exchanged so far -- 2.6 times the average daily intraday volume. The weekly 12/1 170-strike put is the most active contract, with new positions being bought to open.
Meanwhile, sector peer CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) is up 1% to trade at $212.12 ahead of its own report, due out after the close today. The stock also received a lofty price-target hike from BMO to $227 from $167 ahead of the earnings event.
CRWD hit a 52-week high yesterday as well, jumping to $213.14 at its peak. The equity has been scaling the charts since a post-earnings surge of 9.3% on Aug. 31. Fresh off four-straight weekly gains and heading for a fifth-straight month in the black, CrowdStrike stock is up 101.6% in 2023.
Options traders are targeting CRWD at double the volume typically seen at this point, with 13,000 calls and 10,000 puts across the tape so far. The weekly 12/1 190-strike put is the most popular, followed by the weekly 12/1 240-strike call.