Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 6,133 Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired 6,133 shares of Qualys, Inc. during the 1st quarter, valuing their investment at approximately $772,000.
• Qualys reported $1.68 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.47, alongside a revenue increase of 10.3% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now own 99.31% of Qualys's stock, indicating a strong institutional backing and investor confidence in the company.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,133 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,175 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,937,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 16,902 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 181,249 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $25,415,000 after acquiring an additional 69,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualys news, Director Wendy Pfeiffer sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $27,890.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,274.90. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.26, for a total value of $134,640.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 94,468 shares in the company, valued at $12,494,337.68. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,385 shares of company stock worth $7,294,315 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ QLYS traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.15. The company had a trading volume of 232,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,137. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.99. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $164.06 million during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Qualys from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Qualys to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.