Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Qualys, Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" from sixteen analysts, with two sell, twelve hold, and two buy recommendations.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its target price for Qualys from $90.00 to $97.00 while giving it an "underweight" rating, whereas Scotiabank increased theirs from $142.00 to $150.00, issuing a "sector perform" rating.
• Qualys reported earnings of $1.68 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.21, with a revenue increase of 10.3% year-over-year at $164.06 million.

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.00.

QLYS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Qualys from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Qualys from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Qualys from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Qualys Trading Down 1.3%

QLYS opened at $128.63 on Friday. Qualys has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $170.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The software maker reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.21. Qualys had a net margin of 29.04% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The company had revenue of $164.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total transaction of $75,799.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,496,690.73. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.07, for a total transaction of $91,368.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,931,404.16. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,598 shares of company stock worth $6,019,818. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Qualys by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,137,864 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $162,567,000 after acquiring an additional 88,051 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $133,852,000 after purchasing an additional 88,347 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Qualys by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker's stock worth $129,025,000 after buying an additional 38,880 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Qualys by 96.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 688,776 shares of the software maker's stock worth $85,394,000 after buying an additional 338,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Qualys by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,238 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $81,003,000 after buying an additional 308,635 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Qualys

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.

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