Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 108,239 Shares of Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC has significantly reduced its position in Qualys, Inc. by 56.0%, now owning approximately 0.23% of the company valued at $10.7 million.
• Qualys reported $1.68 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue growth of 10.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Qualys, with one upgrading to "strong buy" while another downgraded to "hold."

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,926 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 108,239 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.23% of Qualys worth $10,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Qualys by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,776 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Qualys by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,809 shares of the software maker's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Qualys by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Qualys by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 500 shares of the software maker's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Qualys by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,287 shares of the software maker's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John A. Zangardi sold 3,860 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.82, for a total transaction of $520,405.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,198.68. This trade represents a 34.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 12,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $1,791,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,530,828.50. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,378 shares of company stock worth $7,139,186. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.95. The company had a trading volume of 334,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,499. The business's 50 day moving average price is $136.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 0.65. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.61 and a 1-year high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The software maker reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $164.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 29.04%.Qualys's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Qualys has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.200-6.5 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.6 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on QLYS shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Qualys from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Qualys to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.