Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.57.

Qualys Stock Up 0.7 %

QLYS stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.24. 295,417 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,789. Qualys has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $174.31. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $139.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.87.

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

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,332 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.37, for a total transaction of $209,616.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,885,415.24. The trade was a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,955,359. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

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

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.

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