Bruce K. Posey Sells 525 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total transaction of $73,227.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $132.78. 117,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 367,899. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $139.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.64. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $174.31.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $146.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Qualys by 1,386.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,699 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $49,876,000 after buying an additional 331,766 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $27,086,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Qualys by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $604,721,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 123,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Qualys by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 423,576 shares of the software maker's stock worth $59,393,000 after purchasing an additional 115,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company's stock.

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.