MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,945 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,386 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.12% of Qualys worth $5,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QLYS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total transaction of $73,227.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares in the company, valued at $9,118,226.04. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,994,292.48. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,138 shares of company stock worth $3,519,970. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.17. The stock had a trading volume of 44,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,817. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $172.70. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $126.80 and its 200-day moving average is $135.93.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal 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.