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

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.81, for a total transaction of $866,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,496,012.53. This represents a 2.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Qualys Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ QLYS traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.62. 408,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,447. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.94. Qualys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.61 and a 52-week high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on QLYS. Northland Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualys presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.21.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.