Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Acquired by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,146 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 17,440 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.16% of Qualys worth $7,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the software maker's stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Qualys by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,896 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 1.4% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,272 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Qualys by 0.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 46,436 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $6,622,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,254. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.34 and a 200 day moving average of $135.08. Qualys, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.17 and a twelve month high of $206.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.47.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $153.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.74 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 40.24% and a net margin of 28.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on QLYS shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Qualys from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Qualys from $167.00 to $150.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Qualys from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.80.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.54, for a total transaction of $76,100.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,695,599.04. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $876,470.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 179,649 shares in the company, valued at $22,493,851.29. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,919 shares of company stock worth $2,993,000. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Qualys 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.