Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Purchased by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 164.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,463 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 20,802 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Qualys worth $4,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Qualys by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Qualys by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,776 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Qualys by 3.7% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,809 shares of the software maker's stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Qualys by 1.0% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Qualys by 27.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 500 shares of the software maker's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.31. 237,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 368,949. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $139.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.56. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 0.62. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $159.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $142.00 price target on Qualys and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $137.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 787 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.23, for a total transaction of $116,657.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,717,460.24. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.40, for a total transaction of $1,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 215,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,889,140.80. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,597 shares of company stock worth $6,517,773. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Qualys Company 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.