Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 246.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 973 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Qualys were worth $123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Qualys by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $604,721,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Qualys by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $178,445,000 after buying an additional 16,369 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Qualys by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $133,852,000 after buying an additional 88,347 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Qualys by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $129,025,000 after buying an additional 38,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CDAM UK Ltd raised its position in Qualys by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. CDAM UK Ltd now owns 611,793 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $85,786,000 after buying an additional 108,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Price Performance

Qualys stock opened at $151.21 on Friday. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $170.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.49.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.21. Qualys had a net margin of 29.19% and a return on equity of 38.05%. The company had revenue of $159.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.96, for a total value of $118,266.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,006,497. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.07, for a total transaction of $91,368.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,931,404.16. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,630 shares of company stock valued at $4,461,516 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QLYS. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank set a $142.00 price target on shares of Qualys and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.50.

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.