Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Trading Down 4.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Qualys shares fell 4.1% to about $169.73, on unusually light trading volume—roughly 91% below the average session volume.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.98 in earnings per share versus $1.78 expected and $182.18 million in revenue, up 11.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Qualys has an average “Hold” rating and a $170.53 target price, while insiders sold 58,614 shares worth approximately $7.75 million during the latest quarter.

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $169.40 and last traded at $169.7290. 69,636 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 752,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Qualys from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 price objective on Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.53.

Qualys Trading Down 4.7%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $160.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.96. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25 and a beta of 0.62.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.57 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Qualys's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $4,050,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 196,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,552,610. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.04, for a total transaction of $248,996.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 75,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,591,708.72. This trade represents a 2.10% 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 quarter, insiders sold 58,614 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,968. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 204.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 206.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 297 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc NASDAQ: QLYS is a leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions designed to help organizations streamline their IT security programs. Operating on a unified, modular platform, Qualys offers continuous visibility into global IT assets through a combination of lightweight cloud agents and on-premises scanner appliances. The platform supports an array of security and compliance use cases, enabling real-time detection of vulnerabilities, policy violations and misconfigurations across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments.

The company's flagship Qualys Cloud Platform delivers a suite of integrated applications, including vulnerability management, detection and response (VMDR), policy compliance, web application scanning, file integrity monitoring, asset inventory and container security.

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