LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,136 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,935 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.10% of Qualys worth $4,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Qualys by 56.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,220. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $174.20. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $130.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualys news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,740 shares in the company, valued at $13,203,753.80. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,480 shares of company stock valued at $3,654,266 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on QLYS. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Qualys Company 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.