Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $2.02 Million Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 10,300 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Qualys by 46.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 250,661 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $38,238,000 after buying an additional 80,079 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 83,984 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $12,812,000 after acquiring an additional 11,496 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Qualys by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 89,802 shares of the software maker's stock worth $13,699,000 after acquiring an additional 17,456 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Qualys by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,447 shares of the software maker's stock worth $16,696,000 after purchasing an additional 40,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Qualys in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ QLYS traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $162.84. 377,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,081. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.05. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.00 and a 1-year high of $206.35.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $144.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.69 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 27.34%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on QLYS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Qualys from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $153.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total transaction of $690,594.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,598,905.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.78, for a total value of $197,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,510,573.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total value of $690,594.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,598,905.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,349 shares of company stock worth $2,411,812. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.