Brokerages Set Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) PT at $137.50

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on QLYS shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Qualys from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Qualys from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Qualys from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Qualys from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $135.73. 666,142 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,167. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $132.93 and its 200 day moving average is $134.83. Qualys has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $170.00.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $159.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.05 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 38.05% and a net margin of 29.19%. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 540 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.86, for a total value of $63,644.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 64,513 shares in the company, valued at $7,603,502.18. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.96, for a total transaction of $118,266.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 100,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,006,497. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,105 shares of company stock valued at $4,390,137 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Qualys by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qualys by 52.4% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 436 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.