Herald Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Herald Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,000 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Qualys comprises approximately 1.5% of Herald Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Herald Investment Management Ltd owned 0.18% of Qualys worth $9,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $411,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Qualys by 0.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Qualys by 60.7% during 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 last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth $3,744,000. Finally, Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter worth $1,411,000. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,994,292.48. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.86, for a total transaction of $63,644.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 64,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,603,502.18. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,519,970 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Qualys Stock Up 1.7 %

QLYS stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $121.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 159,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,478. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.61 and a 12 month high of $174.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.83.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Loop Capital dropped 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.21.

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.