Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $180.00 to $197.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the software maker’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Yorkville Ives started coverage on Qualys in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Northland Securities set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Qualys from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualys has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.67.

Qualys Trading Down 10.4%

QLYS traded down $20.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.47. The stock had a trading volume of 497,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,206. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.54. Qualys has a one year low of $74.51 and a one year high of $235.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.16. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. Qualys’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Qualys will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce Posey sold 881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total value of $166,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,955,582.64. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.36, for a total transaction of $609,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 177,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,719,989.68. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,672 shares of company stock worth $2,192,747. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Qualys during the 2nd quarter valued at $792,316,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the second quarter valued at $197,624,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 127.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 832,796 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $73,161,000 after purchasing an additional 465,952 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,044,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualys

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys reported Q3 revenue of $188.05 million, up 10.7% year over year, and earnings of $2.12 per share, topping analyst estimates. The company also raised its FY2026 outlook: EPS guidance is $8.07–$8.14 versus a $7.44 consensus, while revenue guidance is $736.9–$738.9 million versus $735.5 million expected. Qualys Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush, Piper Sandler, and Robert W. Baird raised their price targets, but each maintained a neutral rating—suggesting improved valuation views without a stronger endorsement. Wedbush rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys announced an expanded mROC alliance spanning mobile, operational technology, and identity security, and said management will meet investors at an upcoming UBS technology conference. These developments may support longer-term engagement but offer limited immediate financial impact. Qualys expands global mROC alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $191–$193 million is only slightly above the $190.9 million consensus, with expected year-over-year growth of 9%–10%. The restrained revenue outlook appears to be outweighing the earnings beat and higher full-year forecast in the market’s reaction. Qualys earnings beat; stock falls on revenue outlook

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc provides cloud-based security and compliance software to help organizations identify and manage cybersecurity risks. Its platform brings together information about an organization’s IT assets and security posture to support vulnerability management, threat detection, and compliance activities.

Qualys offers products and services for vulnerability assessment and remediation, cloud security, endpoint protection, web application security, and policy compliance. Its solutions are designed to help customers monitor systems across cloud environments, on-premises infrastructure, and other connected assets.

Founded in 1999, Qualys is headquartered in Foster City, California, and serves customers around the world.