Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Equities research analysts at Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $172.00 price target on the software maker’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target indicates a potential upside of 0.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on QLYS. Truist Financial upped their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on Qualys from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Qualys Stock Performance

QLYS stock opened at $170.36 on Friday. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $107.00 and a fifty-two week high of $206.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.17 and a beta of 0.51.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $144.57 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total transaction of $235,821.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,398,729.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.49, for a total value of $191,523.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 96,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,395,445.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total value of $235,821.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,057 shares in the company, valued at $10,398,729.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,792 shares of company stock valued at $2,455,489. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 353.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 422 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Qualys by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,362 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 2,422 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,705 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by 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.