Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.53.

QLYS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Activity

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total transaction of $995,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,994,292.48. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 4,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.08, for a total transaction of $636,243.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,158,757.20. This represents a 4.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,519,970 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Qualys by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Trading Up 1.7 %

QLYS stock opened at $128.43 on Wednesday. Qualys has a 1-year low of $112.61 and a 1-year high of $171.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.94.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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.