Short-Term Performance Summary

Cumulative Performance

Short-Term Return Comparison

Price & Moving Averages

Trading Volume

14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI)

MACD Momentum

Three-Month Volatility

Risk vs. Short-Term Return

Investment Comparison

Short-Term Investment Decision

Investment Decision

Investment Decision: ZS (Zscaler)

After comparing the four cybersecurity companies — Palo Alto Networks (PANW), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Fortinet (FTNT), and Zscaler (ZS) — I would choose ZS for a short-term investment.

It had a three-month return of 52.1% and a one-month return of 26.0%. Its current price is above the 20-day moving average and above the 50-day moving average.

Its current 14-day RSI is 70.6, which is in the overbought range. This shows strong recent momentum, but it also suggests the stock may be somewhat extended, so I treated RSI as a caution signal rather than a purely positive one.

The MACD histogram is positive at 3.42, meaning the MACD line is currently above the signal line. This provides additional support for positive short-term momentum.

I also compared volatility because stronger returns can come with more risk. CRWD had the highest recent volatility, while ZS had volatility of 3.9%.

Because the goal is to maximize gains over the next 1–3 months, I focused mostly on the one-month and three-month returns and used moving averages, RSI, MACD, volatility, trading volume, and cumulative performance as supporting information.

Based on these indicators, ZS is the company I would choose for this short-term investment decision.

Selected Stock Indicators — Zscaler (ZS)

Indicator	Value
1-Month Return	26.0%
3-Month Return	52.1%
3-Month Volatility	3.9%
14-Day RSI	70.6
RSI Status	Overbought
MACD Histogram	3.42
MACD Momentum	Positive
20-Day Moving Average	Above MA20
50-Day Moving Average	Above MA50
Decision Score	0.8

Decision Score Method: 40% 3-month return, 25% 1-month return, 15% volatility, 10% MA20, and 10% MA50. Volatility is reverse-scaled so lower volatility receives a higher score.

Sources

• Yahoo Finance — Historical Market Data
  Historical stock-price and volume data retrieved through tidyquant::tq_get().

• Fidelity — Moving Averages
  Used for interpreting moving averages and price momentum.

• Investopedia — Short-Term Trading
  Used for background on short-term trading strategies and indicators.

• Investopedia — Top Technical Analysis Tools
  Used for interpreting RSI and common technical-analysis indicators.

• Prospero.ai — Short-Term Signal Overview
  Used for background on short-term stock trading signals.

• IG — Short-Term Trading Strategies for Beginners
  Used for background on short-term trading approaches.

• Investing.com — MACD / Technical Signals
  Used for interpreting MACD momentum and signal-line behavior.