Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The software maker reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.17), Zacks reports. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 29.04%. Qualys updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.930-7.000 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance to 1.730-1.800 EPS.

Qualys Stock Down 3.1%

QLYS traded down $3.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.21. 507,192 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 332,816. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.07. Qualys has a 52-week low of $112.61 and a 52-week high of $170.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on QLYS. DA Davidson increased their target price on Qualys from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Qualys from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.62.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other Qualys news, Director John A. Zangardi sold 3,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.82, for a total value of $520,405.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,198.68. This represents a 34.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.82, for a total value of $1,077,970.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 203,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,865,065.82. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,346 shares of company stock worth $5,028,258. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Qualys by 3,218.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 531 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 482.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 646 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the second quarter worth about $213,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 3,948.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Qualys by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,038 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% 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.