Analysts Set Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Target Price at $140.53

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.53.

A number of brokerages have commented on QLYS. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Qualys Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS traded up $0.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.00. 283,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 394,182. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.84. Qualys has a 52-week low of $112.61 and a 52-week high of $171.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53 and a beta of 0.71.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. As a group, research analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.86, for a total transaction of $63,644.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 64,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,603,502.18. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.81, for a total value of $866,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,313 shares in the company, valued at $30,496,012.53. This trade represents a 2.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,138 shares of company stock worth $3,519,970. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Qualys by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company's stock.

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.