Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives $152.80 Average PT from Analysts

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $152.80.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on QLYS. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Qualys from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS opened at $139.83 on Thursday. Qualys has a one year low of $119.17 and a one year high of $201.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.45 and its 200-day moving average is $135.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80 and a beta of 0.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. Qualys had a return on equity of 40.24% and a net margin of 28.72%. The business had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Qualys will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $876,470.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,649 shares in the company, valued at $22,493,851.29. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 8,555 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.62, for a total value of $1,322,774.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,900,627.84. The trade was a 11.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,715 shares of company stock worth $4,406,251. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 59.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,406 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 10,937 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 439,434 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $62,663,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at $328,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Qualys by 149.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 22.6% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 98,260 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $14,012,000 after acquiring an additional 18,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Company Profile

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.