Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualys has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.57.

Qualys Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $123.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $137.19 and a 200-day moving average of $135.98. Qualys has a 12-month low of $119.17 and a 12-month high of $174.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, equities analysts expect that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total transaction of $73,227.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 65,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,118,226.04. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Qualys by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Qualys by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.