Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 11,506 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,223 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,506 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.15% of Qualys worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Qualys by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 432 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Qualys by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 639 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $135.57 on Monday. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $174.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $143.05 and its 200-day moving average is $135.53. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.56.

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 39.64% and a net margin of 28.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total value of $123,180.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,700,119.70. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,259 shares of company stock worth $4,578,153. Insiders own 1.00% 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.