Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given New $197.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its Qualys price target to $197 from $180 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying about 8.6% upside from the cited share price.
• Analysts overall remain cautious: Qualys has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $191.67.
• Qualys beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its full-year outlook, but shares fell 10.4% on Tuesday; the article cites modest Q4 revenue guidance as a possible concern.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $180.00 to $197.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the software maker's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.56% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Qualys from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $200.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.67.

Qualys Stock Down 10.4%

Shares of QLYS traded down $20.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $181.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 497,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,206. The company has a 50 day moving average of $191.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.06. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.54. Qualys has a 1-year low of $74.51 and a 1-year high of $235.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.63 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Qualys's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualys will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce Posey sold 881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total transaction of $166,967.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,955,582.64. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 2,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.66, for a total value of $557,485.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,300,489.28. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,672 shares of company stock worth $2,192,747 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at about $792,316,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Qualys during the 2nd quarter worth about $197,624,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 127.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 832,796 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $73,161,000 after acquiring an additional 465,952 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Qualys by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 763,099 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $67,041,000 after purchasing an additional 45,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 497,600 shares of the software maker's stock worth $43,714,000 after acquiring an additional 17,300 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Qualys News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys reported Q3 revenue of $188.05 million, up 10.7% year over year, and earnings of $2.12 per share, topping analyst estimates. The company also raised its FY2026 outlook: EPS guidance is $8.07–$8.14 versus a $7.44 consensus, while revenue guidance is $736.9–$738.9 million versus $735.5 million expected. Qualys Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush, Piper Sandler, and Robert W. Baird raised their price targets, but each maintained a neutral rating—suggesting improved valuation views without a stronger endorsement. Wedbush rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys announced an expanded mROC alliance spanning mobile, operational technology, and identity security, and said management will meet investors at an upcoming UBS technology conference. These developments may support longer-term engagement but offer limited immediate financial impact. Qualys expands global mROC alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $191–$193 million is only slightly above the $190.9 million consensus, with expected year-over-year growth of 9%–10%. The restrained revenue outlook appears to be outweighing the earnings beat and higher full-year forecast in the market’s reaction. Qualys earnings beat; stock falls on revenue outlook

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc provides cloud-based security and compliance software to help organizations identify and manage cybersecurity risks. Its platform brings together information about an organization's IT assets and security posture to support vulnerability management, threat detection, and compliance activities.

Qualys offers products and services for vulnerability assessment and remediation, cloud security, endpoint protection, web application security, and policy compliance. Its solutions are designed to help customers monitor systems across cloud environments, on-premises infrastructure, and other connected assets.

Founded in 1999, Qualys is headquartered in Foster City, California, and serves customers around the world.

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