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

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Qualys from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.23.

Qualys Trading Down 0.4 %

Qualys stock opened at $166.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.76. Qualys has a twelve month low of $107.00 and a twelve month high of $206.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13 and a beta of 0.51.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $144.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.69 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 27.34%. Equities analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.76, for a total transaction of $119,121.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,523,615.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.78, for a total transaction of $197,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,510,573.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.76, for a total transaction of $119,121.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,523,615.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,320 shares of company stock valued at $2,711,608. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 218.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 210 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Qualys by 58.2% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Qualys by 54.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 282 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.