Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on QLYS. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.57.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS opened at $130.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.87. Qualys has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $174.31.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. Analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.37, for a total value of $209,616.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,885,415.24. This represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,955,359. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Qualys by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,333,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 1.5% during the third quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Qualys by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.