Nuveen LLC Makes New $13.29 Million Investment in Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 105,541 shares of Qualys, Inc., valued at approximately $13.3 million, bringing their total ownership to 0.29% of the company.
• CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 8,500 shares worth over $1.1 million on August 14th, decreasing his ownership by 3.93%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Qualys, with Scotiabank setting a new target of $150.00 and several other firms issuing ratings from "neutral" to "outperform."

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 105,541 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $13,291,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Qualys as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of QLYS. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Qualys by 1.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Qualys by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,287 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Qualys from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Qualys from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Qualys from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.95, for a total transaction of $1,104,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 207,920 shares in the company, valued at $27,019,204. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,018 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 94,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,494,337.68. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,997,283. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of Qualys stock traded up $3.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.72. The company had a trading volume of 41,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,419. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.36. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.61 and a fifty-two week high of $170.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.56.

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

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.