Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives $140.53 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.53.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total transaction of $73,227.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares in the company, valued at $9,118,226.04. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,496,012.53. The trade was a 2.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,519,970. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $64,016,000 after buying an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $15,937,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $128.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $112.61 and a fifty-two week high of $171.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.84.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

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.