Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Insider Sells $73,227.00 in Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total value of $73,227.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,118,226.04. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Qualys Stock Performance

Qualys stock opened at $133.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.56. Qualys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $174.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.64.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on QLYS. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.57.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Qualys by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $604,721,000 after buying an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,931 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $178,445,000 after acquiring an additional 16,369 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Qualys by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $147,178,000 after purchasing an additional 123,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 954,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $133,852,000 after purchasing an additional 88,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Qualys by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 920,163 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $129,025,000 after purchasing an additional 38,880 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.