Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research 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 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.36.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on QLYS shares. StockNews.com lowered Qualys from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total value of $123,180.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,295 shares in the company, valued at $8,700,119.70. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total transaction of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,994,292.48. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,122 shares of company stock worth $3,484,692. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Qualys by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Qualys in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Down 4.1 %

QLYS traded down $5.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.63. 95,531 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,461. Qualys has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $174.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $131.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.15. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.71.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. Equities analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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.