Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the software maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential downside of 6.19% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 lowered their price target on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $146.14.

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Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock traded down $0.94 on Tuesday, reaching $127.92. 832,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $135.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.05. Qualys has a 12 month low of $119.17 and a 12 month high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. As a group, research analysts expect that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total transaction of $123,180.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 62,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,700,119.70. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,595 shares of company stock worth $3,691,922 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the software maker's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by 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.