Chiron Investment Management LLC Makes New $1.41 Million Investment in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,061 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of QLYS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker's stock worth $178,445,000 after acquiring an additional 16,369 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 123,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Qualys by 10.2% in 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, CDAM UK Ltd lifted its stake in Qualys by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. CDAM UK Ltd now owns 611,793 shares of the software maker's stock worth $85,786,000 after acquiring an additional 108,880 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.62. The stock had a trading volume of 408,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,408. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $174.20.

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 (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,416,557.14. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.81, for a total value of $866,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,313 shares in the company, valued at $30,496,012.53. This represents a 2.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,480 shares of company stock worth $3,579,506. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on QLYS. StockNews.com raised Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Loop Capital decreased 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. Scotiabank cut their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.