Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Qualys shares reached a new 52-week high of $207.70, up 5.8% from the prior close, amid strong trading momentum.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.98, beating estimates by $0.20, while revenue rose 11.1% year over year to $182.18 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Qualys has an average “Hold” rating and $183.62 price target, despite some bullish upgrades and a $230 target from Yorkville Ives.

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $207.70 and last traded at $207.1060, with a volume of 377,310 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $196.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $160.00 target price on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $200.00 price target on Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Qualys in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Qualys from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Qualys from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Qualys presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.62.

Qualys Stock Up 5.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.17 and a 200 day moving average of $141.18. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02 and a beta of 0.60.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 29.38%. The firm had revenue of $182.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total value of $166,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,955,582.64. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sumedh Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.36, for a total value of $609,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 177,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,719,989.68. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,640 shares of company stock worth $1,884,257. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QLYS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $792,316,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter valued at approximately $197,624,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Qualys by 127.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 832,796 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $73,161,000 after buying an additional 465,952 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Qualys by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 763,099 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $67,041,000 after buying an additional 45,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Qualys by 3.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 497,600 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $43,714,000 after buying an additional 17,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc is a cloud-based cybersecurity company that helps organizations identify, assess and manage security risks across information technology environments. Its platform is designed to provide visibility into assets, vulnerabilities, configurations and compliance requirements across on-premises infrastructure, endpoints, networks, applications and cloud environments.

The company's offerings include vulnerability management, detection and response, policy compliance, asset inventory, web application security, endpoint security and cloud security capabilities.

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