Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 14,098 Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new position in Qualys, Inc., purchasing 14,098 shares valued at approximately $1.78 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Qualys recently, with Quadrant Capital Group enhancing its position by 88.1% in the fourth quarter.
• Qualys reported earnings of $1.67 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and noted a revenue increase of 9.7% from the previous year.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,098 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,775,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Qualys by 24.4% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,370 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Qualys by 4.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,143 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group increased its position in shares of Qualys by 35.0% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 7,008 shares of the software maker's stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Qualys by 1.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,027 shares of the software maker's stock worth $13,856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the first quarter worth $360,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.53. 319,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,344. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $140.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.62. Qualys, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.61 and a twelve month high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.21. Qualys had a net margin of 29.19% and a return on equity of 38.05%. The business had revenue of $159.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 541 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $75,799.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,643 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,690.73. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 787 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,717,460.24. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,598 shares of company stock worth $6,529,928. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on QLYS shares. Scotiabank set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Qualys and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $137.50.

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.