Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Buys 8,257 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 48.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,127 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,257 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Qualys worth $4,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Qualys by 256.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 871,944 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $97,858,000 after buying an additional 626,998 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,892,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Qualys by 47.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 380,609 shares of the software maker's stock worth $58,062,000 after buying an additional 122,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 201,932.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 117,179 shares of the software maker's stock worth $23,000,000 after buying an additional 117,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Qualys by 52.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 281,357 shares of the software maker's stock worth $36,582,000 after buying an additional 97,095 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Qualys in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush cut their target price on Qualys from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.23.

Qualys Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of QLYS traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $167.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,425. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43 and a beta of 0.51. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.00 and a 1-year high of $206.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.79.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $144.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.69 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 27.34%. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.76, for a total value of $119,121.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,523,615.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 5,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.05, for a total value of $961,210.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 182,213 shares in the company, valued at $34,994,006.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.76, for a total value of $119,121.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,523,615.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,320 shares of company stock worth $2,711,608 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.