Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.23.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Qualys from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Qualys in a report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $172.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, May 13th.

Qualys Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $143.39 on Thursday. Qualys has a 12-month low of $122.53 and a 12-month high of $206.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.17. Qualys had a return on equity of 47.28% and a net margin of 28.48%. The business had revenue of $145.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.67 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Qualys will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.33, for a total value of $241,457.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,477,200.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.04, for a total value of $315,556.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,037,927.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,443 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.33, for a total transaction of $241,457.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,477,200.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,443 shares of company stock worth $4,148,987. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 121.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 360,294 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $70,719,000 after buying an additional 197,911 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 501,847 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $83,743,000 after purchasing an additional 169,293 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Qualys by 169.7% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 245,522 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $40,970,000 after purchasing an additional 154,492 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 172.3% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 193,056 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $37,893,000 after purchasing an additional 122,168 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 201,932.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 117,179 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $23,000,000 after buying an additional 117,121 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.