Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised its Qualys price target to $210 from $160 but maintained a neutral rating, implying about 3.7% upside. Analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target of $189.20.
• Qualys beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $2.12 versus $1.96 expected and revenue of $188.05 million, up 10.7% year over year. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue and adjusted EPS outlook.
• Despite the earnings beat and higher guidance, Qualys shares faced pressure after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $191–$193 million fell short of investor growth expectations.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $160.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the software maker's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.72% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush lowered shares of Qualys from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Qualys from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $208.00 price target on Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.20.

Qualys Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $202.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.06. Qualys has a 12 month low of $74.51 and a 12 month high of $235.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.63 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Qualys will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sumedh Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total value of $544,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 180,338 shares in the company, valued at $30,666,476.90. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total value of $166,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,807 shares in the company, valued at $10,955,582.64. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,672 shares of company stock worth $2,192,747 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Key Headlines Impacting Qualys

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue rose 10.7% year over year to $188.05 million, ahead of estimates, while adjusted EPS of $2.12 beat the $1.96 consensus. Qualys also raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $736.9–$738.9 million and adjusted EPS outlook to $8.07–$8.14. Article: Qualys Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Qualys expanded its global mROC alliance with partners covering mobile, operational technology/IoT, and identity security. The broader ecosystem could strengthen its risk-management offerings, though the impact is likely longer term. Article: Qualys Expands Global mROC Alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and raised guidance, shares declined after the company’s revenue outlook failed to satisfy investor expectations. Qualys forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $191–$193 million, implying 9%–10% growth; the market reaction suggests investors wanted a stronger growth outlook. Article: Qualys Earnings Beat. Cybersecurity Stock Falls On Revenue Outlook.

About Qualys

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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