Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 44.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,851 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Qualys were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 201,932.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 117,179 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $23,000,000 after purchasing an additional 117,121 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Qualys by 46.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 250,661 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $38,238,000 after purchasing an additional 80,079 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,400,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in Qualys by 5.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,137,107 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $173,466,000 after purchasing an additional 54,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Qualys by 9.9% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 511,574 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $78,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46,143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $170.36 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.68. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.17 and a beta of 0.51. Qualys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.00 and a 52-week high of $206.35.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.26. Qualys had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 27.34%. The company had revenue of $144.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.69 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.49, for a total transaction of $191,523.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,395,445.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total value of $690,594.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,598,905.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,130 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.49, for a total value of $191,523.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,395,445.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,792 shares of company stock valued at $2,455,489 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Qualys in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on Qualys from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Scotiabank began coverage on Qualys in a report on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $172.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Qualys from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.57.

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.