Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,931 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Qualys by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $64,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at $15,937,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Qualys by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualys in the 4th quarter worth about $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $120.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys, Inc. has a one year low of $112.61 and a one year high of $174.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.88.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on QLYS shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.21.

Insider Activity

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.81, for a total value of $866,670.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,496,012.53. This trade represents a 2.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total transaction of $123,180.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,700,119.70. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,480 shares of company stock valued at $3,579,506. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security.