Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Reduce" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $152.80.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Qualys in a report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Qualys from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total transaction of $165,446.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,830,273.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $876,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 179,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,493,851.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total value of $165,446.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,830,273.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,919 shares of company stock worth $1,360,140 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Qualys by 294.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the software maker's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 149.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the second quarter worth $40,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Qualys by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 639 shares of the software maker's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Price Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $31.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.23. 2,996,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,907. Qualys has a twelve month low of $119.17 and a twelve month high of $206.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12 and a beta of 0.47.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $148.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $148.80 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.36% and a return on equity of 44.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.