Analysts Set Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) PT at $152.80

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $152.80.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on QLYS. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Qualys from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.60. 145,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,602. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.47. Qualys has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $206.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.98.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. Qualys had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 40.24%. The business had revenue of $153.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 179,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,493,851.29. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.54, for a total value of $76,100.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,695,599.04. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,919 shares of company stock worth $2,993,000. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the third quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Qualys by 208.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 86,187 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $11,072,000 after buying an additional 58,252 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 428.9% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 14,804 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Qualys by 36.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 20,576 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 5,508 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 2,459.9% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,135 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $6,151,000 after acquiring an additional 41,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.