Nuveen Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,634 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 788 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.29% of Qualys worth $14,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Qualys by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $134.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 0.61. Qualys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.61 and a 1 year high of $170.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.72.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $159.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.05 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other Qualys news, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.93, for a total value of $515,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,027.38. This represents a 24.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.85, for a total value of $72,371.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,709 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,585.65. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,127 shares of company stock valued at $1,904,252. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Scotiabank set a $142.00 target price on Qualys and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.50.

Qualys 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.