Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.79% of Qualys worth $604,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Qualys by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Qualys by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total transaction of $67,795.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,416,557.14. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total value of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,530,036.88. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,595 shares of company stock valued at $3,691,922 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $125.93 on Tuesday. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $174.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.49.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QLYS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.36.

Qualys 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.