Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,571 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 9,054 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Qualys were worth $3,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Qualys by 56.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.24, for a total value of $121,615.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,986,296.48. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total value of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,530,036.88. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,926 shares of company stock valued at $3,745,742 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $126.39 on Monday. Qualys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $174.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen 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 price target of $146.57.

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.