Allianz Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its holding in Qualys, Inc. by 40.3% in Q1, owning 3,700 shares valued at $466,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Qualys, with SBI Securities growing holdings by 82.7% and Quadrant Capital Group by 88.1% in recent months.
• Qualys reported a quarterly earnings earnings per share (EPS) of $1.67, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue of $159.90 million, a 9.7% year-over-year increase.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,700 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Qualys were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,681 shares of the software maker's stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Qualys by 34.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,622 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,982,000 after purchasing an additional 8,051 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 28.3% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Qualys by 82.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 369 shares of the software maker's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Qualys and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.50.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.53. The company had a trading volume of 319,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,327. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $170.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.21. Qualys had a return on equity of 38.05% and a net margin of 29.19%. The firm had revenue of $159.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.07, for a total transaction of $91,368.99. Following the sale, the director owned 13,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,931,404.16. The trade was a 4.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 787 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.23, for a total value of $116,657.01. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 99,288 shares in the company, valued at $14,717,460.24. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,598 shares of company stock worth $6,529,928 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Qualys 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.