Morgan Stanley Cuts Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Price Target to $90.00

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $90.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on QLYS. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.21.

Qualys Stock Performance

QLYS stock opened at $120.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys has a one year low of $112.61 and a one year high of $174.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.87, for a total value of $169,573.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 105,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,203,753.80. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,994,292.48. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,480 shares of company stock valued at $3,579,506. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $64,016,000 after buying an additional 3,848 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,937,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Qualys by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.