Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,002 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 25,956 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.40% of Qualys worth $20,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 96.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 688,776 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $85,394,000 after buying an additional 338,702 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,238 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 308,635 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,291,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,137,864 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $162,567,000 after purchasing an additional 88,051 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 100.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 136,835 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $19,535,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.12, for a total value of $68,644.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,775 shares in the company, valued at $7,217,238. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.80, for a total value of $113,771.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,154.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 21,896 shares of company stock valued at $2,900,790 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Qualys Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $145.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.20. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $159.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 0.55.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The software maker reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.30. Qualys had a net margin of 29.04% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The company had revenue of $169.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.930-7.000 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.730-1.800 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on QLYS shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $145.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.14.

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.