Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,661 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Qualys were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in 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 period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Qualys by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 68.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the software maker's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,321,173.97. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.37, for a total transaction of $209,616.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,885,415.24. The trade was a 1.16 % 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 currently owned by insiders.

Qualys Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.99. The stock had a trading volume of 164,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,681. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17 and a beta of 0.56. Qualys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.17 and a 1 year high of $174.31.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on QLYS. Northland Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualys currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.57.

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.