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Strong results lead to better company valuation

Zscaler released strong financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter, which exceeded market expectations. The company’s revenue rose 57% yoy to $ 197.1 million, and earnings per share increased 70% yoy to $ 0.14. The strong quarter was driven by the expansion of the company’s product line in all market segments, verticals and geographic regions of presence. We believe that by the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2022, the company will be able to earn revenue of $ 211 million (+ 48% yoy), and net income per share at the level of $ 0.12. We estimate that Zscaler will have revenues of $ 940-950mn for the full fiscal year 2022, and earnings per share will increase to $ 0.52-0.56. We raise our target fair value for the company’s shares from $ 255 to $ 314.

Markets Are Positive

Major US stock indexes closed the week with growth. The S&P 500 added just under 3% and closed the trading session on Friday at an all-time high of 4,280.7 points. The Nasdaq 100 tech index rose 2.1% over the week and hit its all-time highs, ending trading at 14,345 points. The improvement in investor sentiment was facilitated by the statements of the head of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, who on Tuesday confirmed his opinion that the rise in inflation in the country is temporary. He also noted that the Fed will continue to support the economy. At the same time, Powell acknowledged the existence of significant uncertainty amid the opening of the economy after the restrictive measures introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Powell considers it unlikely that the rate of growth in consumer prices in the country will reach the level of the 1970s, when inflation was in double digits.

We’re upgrading Chipotle Mexican Grill

Thanks to strong second quarter earnings, we have revised Chipotle Mexican Grill’s financial model and raised our target price for Chipotle Mexican Grill from $ 2,080 to $ 2,250. We expect the company’s restaurant business profitability to rise to 27.6% by 2024. Our forecast is in the middle of the market consensus range of 27-28%. We raise our estimate for 2022 store sales growth to 6.5% from 5%, which is over 6% for Consensus Metrix. In the long term, we maintain the prospects for sales growth in stores in the region of 5% per annum. Chipotle Mexican Grill has one of the finest financial profiles in the restaurant industry.

The week ended with insignificant growth

The market capitalization of the major American indices S&P 500, Dow Jones and NASDAQ 100 over the past week increased by 0.5%, 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. On Wednesday, following the publication of the Beige Book, major indicators closed the session near record levels. The document says that economic activity in the United States from early April to late May grew at a moderate pace, slightly higher than earlier this year. However, the next day, the market corrected on positive data on initial claims for unemployment, which continue to decline and update the minimum levels before the pandemic. On Friday, an important package of May data on the US labor market was released. The statistics turned out to be worse than expected, which was greeted with optimism by market participants. Weak numbers indicate that the labor market is far from ideal, so the Fed should not tighten monetary policy prematurely.