Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Down 9.4% Following Insider Selling

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) dropped 9.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $150.05 and last traded at $150.32. Approximately 446,886 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 455,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.98.

Specifically, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total value of $690,594.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,598,905.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total value of $690,594.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,598,905.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total value of $235,821.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,057 shares in the company, valued at $10,398,729.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,590 shares of company stock worth $2,419,842. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on QLYS shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Qualys in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Qualys from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Qualys from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.23.

Qualys Trading Down 9.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.87.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $144.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.69 million. Qualys had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 49.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Qualys by 1,666.7% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Qualys by 545.2% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 200 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.