Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Qualys from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wedbush downgraded Qualys from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 10th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Qualys from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Qualys from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.62.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $210.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $189.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.71. Qualys has a 52-week low of $74.51 and a 52-week high of $235.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Qualys will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total transaction of $544,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 180,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,666,476.90. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 2,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.66, for a total value of $557,485.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,489.28. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,672 shares of company stock valued at $2,192,747 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Qualys during the second quarter worth approximately $792,316,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the second quarter valued at approximately $197,624,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 127.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 832,796 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $73,161,000 after purchasing an additional 465,952 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,044,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,852,000. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys has drawn attention after launching an AI-driven vulnerability platform, while broader demand for cybersecurity solutions, cloud migration and digital transformation may support the business. Article: Qualys Surges Following Launch of AI-Driven Vulnerability Platform Article: Security Stocks to Buy Amid Industry Trend
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 2,659 shares for about $557,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. She retained 68,208 shares, making the planned sale a limited signal on its own. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: One analysis cautions that Qualys must turn its AI-driven sales pipeline into billings to justify its sharp rally, highlighting execution risk. Article: Qualys Must Turn AI-Driven Pipeline Into Billings
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen reportedly cut its rating to Hold. Separately, a Zacks preview said Qualys lacked the combination of factors suggesting a likely earnings beat, though it noted expectations for earnings growth. Article: Qualys Stock Rating Cut to Hold Article: Qualys Reports Next Week

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc is a cloud-based cybersecurity company that helps organizations identify, assess and manage security risks across information technology environments. Its platform is designed to provide visibility into assets, vulnerabilities, configurations and compliance requirements across on-premises infrastructure, endpoints, networks, applications and cloud environments.

The company’s offerings include vulnerability management, detection and response, policy compliance, asset inventory, web application security, endpoint security and cloud security capabilities.