Bank of America Corp DE Acquires Shares of 158,937 Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 158,937 Qualys shares worth approximately $21.85 million during the second quarter, giving it a 0.46% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.31% of QLYS.
• Qualys exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $1.98 per share versus the $1.78 consensus and revenue of $182.18 million, up 11.1% year over year.
• QLYS shares were trading at $184.79, up 0.8%, while analyst sentiment remained mixed: the consensus rating was “Hold” with an average price target of $173.87.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 158,937 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $21,852,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.46% of Qualys at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in QLYS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Qualys during the second quarter worth approximately $792,316,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at $197,624,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,256,002 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $168,380,000 after buying an additional 48,877 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 127.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 832,796 shares of the software maker's stock worth $73,161,000 after acquiring an additional 465,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 6.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $184.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97 and a beta of 0.62. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.51 and a 12-month high of $201.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.58.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.57 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on QLYS. Wedbush cut shares of Qualys from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Qualys from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Northland Securities set a $208.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $173.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.04, for a total value of $248,996.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 75,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,591,708.72. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 63,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,505. The trade was a 1.55% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,142,458. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Qualys Profile

Qualys, Inc is a cloud-based security and compliance company that helps organizations identify, assess and manage cyber risk across their information technology environments. Its platform is designed to provide visibility into assets, vulnerabilities, configurations and compliance requirements across networks, endpoints, applications and cloud infrastructure.

The company's offerings include vulnerability management, asset inventory, policy compliance, cloud security, web application security and endpoint detection and response.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QLYS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.