Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

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

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on QLYS shares. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $141.34. 103,748 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,411. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13 and a beta of 0.54. Qualys has a 1 year low of $119.17 and a 1 year high of $203.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $142.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.74 million. Qualys had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 40.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 634 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total value of $77,468.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at $10,501,252.98. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.24, for a total value of $121,615.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,986,296.48. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $4,406,251. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Qualys by 149.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Qualys by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the software maker's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,091 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.