Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on QLYS. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Qualys from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.57.

Qualys Price Performance

Qualys stock opened at $129.70 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.90. Qualys has a 1-year low of $119.17 and a 1-year high of $174.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.24, for a total transaction of $121,615.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,986,296.48. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total transaction of $226,676.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,530,036.88. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QLYS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Qualys by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $604,721,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $178,445,000 after buying an additional 16,369 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $147,178,000 after buying an additional 123,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $133,852,000 after buying an additional 88,347 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $129,025,000 after buying an additional 38,880 shares during the period. 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.