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

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price 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 reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.57.

Qualys Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $123.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.56. Qualys has a 1-year low of $119.17 and a 1-year high of $174.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.98.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total transaction of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 112,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,530,036.88. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QLYS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Qualys by 14.5% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 15,851 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the third quarter worth $445,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Qualys by 21.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,091 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Qualys by 6.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 29,428 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the third quarter worth $200,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.