Insider Selling: Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Insider Sells 524 Shares of Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total value of $67,795.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,557.14. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $127.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.15. Qualys, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.17 and a twelve month high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QLYS. Loop Capital cut their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualys has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Qualys by 1,386.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,699 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,876,000 after purchasing an additional 331,766 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,086,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $604,721,000 after acquiring an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $147,178,000 after acquiring an additional 123,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Qualys by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 423,576 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $59,393,000 after acquiring an additional 115,427 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is 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.