Northern Trust Corp Sells 12,781 Shares of Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Qualys, Inc. by 2.2%, selling 12,781 shares, and now owns 558,235 shares valued at approximately $70.3 million.
• Qualys reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $164.06 million, a year-over-year increase of 10.3%.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Qualys, with SBI Securities boosting their stake by 82.7% during the 1st quarter.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 558,235 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 12,781 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.54% of Qualys worth $70,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Qualys by 82.7% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 369 shares of the software maker's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 52.4% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 436 shares of the software maker's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 27.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 96.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 601 shares of the software maker's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $135.81. 332,327 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,652. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 0.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The software maker reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $161.25 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 29.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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, equities analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,962 shares in the company, valued at $32,530,828.50. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,018 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.26, for a total value of $134,640.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 94,468 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,120 shares of company stock worth $6,838,733. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QLYS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Qualys from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.00.

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.