Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Price Target Raised to $210.00

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $160.00 to $210.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the software maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on QLYS. Zacks Research upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wedbush cut Qualys from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Qualys from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Yorkville Ives began coverage on Qualys in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 price objective on Qualys in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Qualys Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ QLYS opened at $173.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.75. Qualys has a 52-week low of $74.51 and a 52-week high of $235.54. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.16. Qualys had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 37.09%. The firm had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. Qualys’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other news, CEO Sumedh Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total transaction of $544,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 180,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,666,476.90. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 2,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.66, for a total transaction of $557,485.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,489.28. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,672 shares of company stock worth $2,192,747 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 495 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,114 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,016 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,245 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Qualys by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 6,396 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Recent Qualys Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about QLYS:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird, Piper Sandler, Royal Bank of Canada and Morgan Stanley raised their price targets for Qualys. Wedbush and UBS analysts also expect the shares to rise, offering a counterpoint to the recent weakness. Baird price target Piper Sandler price target RBC price target Morgan Stanley price target Wedbush outlook UBS outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys raised its guidance, but the accompanying coverage questions whether the stock’s valuation already reflects that improvement. The company also recently reported quarterly EPS and revenue above consensus, while revenue grew 10.7% year over year. Guidance and valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies maintained a Hold rating and lowered its expectations for Qualys’ share price. JPMorgan also cut its price target. Separately, a Seeking Alpha analysis argues that the valuation requires faster growth, reinforcing concerns that current growth may not justify the stock’s valuation. Jefferies outlook Jefferies expectations JPMorgan price target Valuation analysis

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based security and compliance software to help organizations identify and manage cybersecurity risks. Its platform brings together information about an organization’s IT assets and security posture to support vulnerability management, threat detection, and compliance activities. Qualys offers products and services for vulnerability assessment and remediation, cloud security, endpoint protection, web application security, and policy compliance. Its solutions are designed to help customers monitor systems across cloud environments, on-premises infrastructure, and other connected assets.