Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on QLYS. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.57.

Qualys Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $121.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.56. Qualys has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $174.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.84 and a 200 day moving average of $135.88.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total value of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 112,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,530,036.88. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

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

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.