CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 3,374 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,275 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 3,374 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.33% of Qualys worth $17,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 84,300 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $11,821,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 253,114 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $35,492,000 after purchasing an additional 95,612 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the 4th quarter worth about $3,744,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth about $1,411,000. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at about $401,000. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 219,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,140. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $127.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.76. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.61 and a fifty-two week high of $173.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26 and a beta of 0.71.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the 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 owns 65,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,557.14. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,358 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.87, for a total transaction of $169,573.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 105,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,753.80. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,519,970. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QLYS. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.21.

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.