Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Earns Underweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) in a report 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 target price would indicate a potential downside of 9.21% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.14.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $132.17 on Tuesday. Qualys has a 52-week low of $119.17 and a 52-week high of $174.20. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $136.23 and a 200-day moving average of $136.08.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total transaction of $73,227.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,118,226.04. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at $30,321,173.97. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,926 shares of company stock valued at $3,745,742 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.