Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Receives $152.80 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research 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 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $152.80.

Several research firms have recently commented on QLYS. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $140.22 on Thursday. Qualys has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $201.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $153.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.74 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 40.24% and a net margin of 28.72%. Qualys’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Qualys will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total value of $77,468.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,501,252.98. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total transaction of $165,446.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,830,273.24. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,715 shares of company stock worth $4,406,251 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 1.5% in the third quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Qualys by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,896 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Qualys by 1.4% during the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,272 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 0.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 46,436 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,622,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 0.6% in the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.