Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $152.80.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on QLYS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,530,036.88. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,377 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,973. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QLYS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Qualys by 1,386.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,699 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,876,000 after buying an additional 331,766 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 100.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 367,470 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $52,401,000 after purchasing an additional 184,403 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Qualys by 14.5% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 926,093 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $118,966,000 after purchasing an additional 117,079 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 25.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,970 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $44,994,000 after purchasing an additional 64,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Qualys by 208.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 86,187 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $11,072,000 after purchasing an additional 58,252 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $136.96 on Monday. Qualys has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $201.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.69.

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

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.