Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the software maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 9.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on QLYS. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.14.

Qualys Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $132.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.08. Qualys has a 12 month low of $119.17 and a 12 month high of $174.20.

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

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total transaction of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 112,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,530,036.88. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,926 shares of company stock valued at $3,745,742. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Qualys by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,333,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualys by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Qualys by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.