Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Qualys from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on Qualys from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Qualys from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Qualys in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.71.

Qualys Price Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $152.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 48.18 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.95 and a 200 day moving average of $137.81. Qualys has a 1-year low of $101.10 and a 1-year high of $165.03.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The software maker reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.30. Qualys had a net margin of 22.98% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm had revenue of $137.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.55 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 5,003 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.60, for a total transaction of $758,454.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,396 shares in the company, valued at $23,254,833.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.89, for a total value of $250,239.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,203 shares in the company, valued at $8,033,238.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 5,003 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.60, for a total transaction of $758,454.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,254,833.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,341 shares of company stock worth $3,616,658. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,740 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Qualys by 1.5% in the second quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Qualys by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 733 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 606 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 242 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc provides cloud-based information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which includes Vulnerability Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Threat Protection; Continuous Monitoring; Patch Management; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Certificate Assessment; SaaS Detection and Response; Secure Enterprise Mobility; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Context Extended Detection and Response; Network Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; Security Configuration Assessment; PCI Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; Security Assessment Questionnaire; Out of-Band Configuration Assessment; Web Application Scanning; Web Application Firewall; Global Asset Inventory; Cybersecurity Asset Management; Certificate Inventory; Cloud Inventory; Cloud Security Assessment; and Container Security.