Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $116.67 and last traded at $120.36, with a volume of 18087 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.36.

Qualys Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.36.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total transaction of $67,795.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,557.14. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total transaction of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 112,017 shares in the company, valued at $15,530,036.88. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,595 shares of company stock worth $3,691,922 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

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

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.