Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the software maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential downside of 23.23% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on QLYS. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank cut their price objective 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Qualys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $146.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.21.

Qualys Price Performance

NASDAQ QLYS traded down $3.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.23. 286,558 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,003. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $112.61 and a fifty-two week high of $174.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.87, for a total value of $169,573.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 105,740 shares in the company, valued at $13,203,753.80. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,496,012.53. This trade represents a 2.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,480 shares of company stock worth $3,579,506 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 101.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,214 shares of the software maker's stock worth $14,415,000 after purchasing an additional 56,613 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Qualys by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,262 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Qualys by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the software maker's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 30.8% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,919 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 70.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the software maker's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Company Profile

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.