Insider Selling: Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Insider Sells 525 Shares of Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total value of $73,227.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,118,226.04. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS opened at $133.26 on Thursday. Qualys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.17 and a 1 year high of $174.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.64. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Qualys by 3.1% during the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $178,445,000 after purchasing an additional 16,369 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 123,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Qualys by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $133,852,000 after purchasing an additional 88,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Qualys by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $129,025,000 after purchasing an additional 38,880 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QLYS. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.57.

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.