Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price Down 9.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) fell 9.4% during trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $165.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Qualys traded as low as $150.05 and last traded at $150.32. 446,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 455,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.98.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Qualys from $212.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Qualys from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,443 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.33, for a total value of $241,457.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 62,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,477,200.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 4,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.62, for a total value of $690,594.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,481 shares in the company, valued at $32,598,905.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.33, for a total value of $241,457.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,477,200.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,662 shares of company stock valued at $2,263,965 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 1,666.7% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 545.2% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 200 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Trading Down 9.2 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.05. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47 and a beta of 0.51.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $144.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.69 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 27.34%. On average, research analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

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.