Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

QLYS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.36.

Qualys Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $118.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys has a 12-month low of $116.67 and a 12-month high of $174.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.80 and a 200-day moving average of $136.39.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total value 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 represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,595 shares of company stock valued at $3,691,922 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Qualys by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $64,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,937,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.