Optimize Financial Inc Takes $1.95 Million Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 13,931 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,953,000. Qualys comprises approximately 1.5% of Optimize Financial Inc's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Qualys by 0.9% during 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,937,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Qualys by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Qualys by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualys 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 value of $67,795.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,416,557.14. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,994,292.48. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,480 shares of company stock worth $3,579,506. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on QLYS. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital lowered 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. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.21.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $120.62. 408,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,241. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.97. Qualys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.61 and a 52-week high of $174.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

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.