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

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $152.80.

QLYS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Qualys from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Qualys from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Qualys Stock Performance

Qualys stock opened at $140.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.54. Qualys has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $201.03.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.31, for a total value of $585,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,162.46. This represents a 24.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 855 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.24, for a total transaction of $121,615.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,986,296.48. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $4,406,251. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 1.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Qualys by 2.2% in the second 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 during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,272 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 46,436 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,622,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualys by 0.6% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.