Numerai GP LLC Boosts Stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Numerai GP LLC lifted its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Free Report) by 250.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,938 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,246 shares during the period. Numerai GP LLC's holdings in Qualys were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.13. The stock had a trading volume of 61,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,981. The stock's 50 day moving average is $126.76 and its 200 day moving average is $136.87. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68 and a beta of 0.61. Qualys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.61 and a 1 year high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.21. Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. The business had revenue of $159.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QLYS. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $137.50.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.93, for a total transaction of $515,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,027.38. The trade was a 24.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.75, for a total value of $129,031.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,791,610. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,127 shares of company stock worth $1,905,108. Insiders own 0.88% 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.