Brokerages Set Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Price Target at $152.80

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $152.80.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Qualys from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Stock Performance

Qualys stock opened at $140.98 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05 and a beta of 0.57. Qualys has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $200.90.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at $30,321,173.97. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 8,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.62, for a total transaction of $1,322,774.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 64,032 shares in the company, valued at $9,900,627.84. This represents a 11.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,259 shares of company stock valued at $4,578,153 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the third quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Qualys by 208.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 86,187 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $11,072,000 after purchasing an additional 58,252 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Qualys by 428.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 14,804 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 57.7% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,672 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Qualys by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,015 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.31% 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.