Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $140.71, but opened at $132.88. Qualys shares last traded at $140.30, with a volume of 99,044 shares.

The software maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 40.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on QLYS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.66, for a total transaction of $1,047,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,741,295.98. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total value of $123,180.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,700,119.70. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,259 shares of company stock valued at $4,578,153. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,310,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Qualys by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,139 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,640,000. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Down 3.7 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $143.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86 and a beta of 0.56.

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.