Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) CEO Sumedh S. Thakar Sells 7,000 Shares

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,144 shares in the company, valued at $34,994,292.48. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Qualys Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Qualys stock traded down $3.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.20. 407,349 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,166. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.33 and a 200 day moving average of $135.50. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $174.31.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Qualys from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Qualys by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker's stock worth $604,721,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $178,445,000 after purchasing an additional 16,369 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $147,178,000 after purchasing an additional 123,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Qualys by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker's stock worth $133,852,000 after buying an additional 88,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Qualys by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker's stock worth $129,025,000 after buying an additional 38,880 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.