Qualys, Inc. $QLYS Shares Bought by Willis Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel increased its Qualys stake by 11.7% in the third quarter, acquiring 6,689 shares and bringing its holdings to 63,845 shares valued at approximately $12.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 99.31%, with several other investment firms also raising positions or initiating new stakes in Qualys.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Qualys has an average “Hold” rating and a $183.62 price target, while the stock recently traded at $190.64 after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations.

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,845 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.18% of Qualys worth $11,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,295 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,155,000 after purchasing an additional 10,569 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Qualys by 306.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,253 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,185,000 after buying an additional 27,333 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Qualys by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,251 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Park State Asset Management bought a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter valued at about $5,942,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,749,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QLYS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Qualys from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Qualys from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Yorkville Ives started coverage on Qualys in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualys currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.62.

Qualys Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Qualys stock traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $190.64. 149,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,392. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $182.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.68. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97 and a beta of 0.60. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.51 and a 52 week high of $206.25.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 29.38%. The business had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.04, for a total transaction of $248,996.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 75,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,591,708.72. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sumedh Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total transaction of $544,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 180,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,666,476.90. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,759 shares of company stock valued at $1,717,290. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Qualys Profile

Qualys, Inc is a cloud-based cybersecurity company that helps organizations identify, assess and manage security risks across information technology environments. Its platform is designed to provide visibility into assets, vulnerabilities, configurations and compliance requirements across on-premises infrastructure, endpoints, networks, applications and cloud environments.

The company's offerings include vulnerability management, detection and response, policy compliance, asset inventory, web application security, endpoint security and cloud security capabilities.

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