Bruce Posey Sells 882 Shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) insider Bruce Posey sold 882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.17, for a total value of $139,505.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 62,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,915,519.13. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Qualys Price Performance

Qualys stock opened at $135.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.52. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.51 and a 1-year high of $167.86. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26 and a beta of 0.61.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The software maker reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.14. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 29.41%.The firm had revenue of $175.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Qualys’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.440-7.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.730-1.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Qualys from $90.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair cut Qualys from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Qualys from $85.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Qualys by 63.5% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,251 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Qualys by 24.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 11,287 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 35.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 52.0% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,402 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Qualys by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 472 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualys

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys expanded its TotalAI capabilities, adding tools to detect “shadow AI,” monitor abnormal model behavior, and demonstrate governance controls across AI development and production. The launch strengthens Qualys’ position in the growing AI-security market and could support future demand. Qualys Expands AI Security with Stronger Governance
• Positive Sentiment: Qualys is investing in Australia and New Zealand sales-channel and customer-success personnel, including the appointment of a new regional channel manager. The move signals an effort to accelerate international growth and partner distribution. Qualys Invests in ANZ Talent
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Qualys price target to $150 from $139 but maintained a “neutral” rating. The broader analyst view remains “Hold,” with a consensus target of approximately $142.53, suggesting limited near-term conviction despite the potential upside to the target. JPMorgan Raises Qualys Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys’ latest reported quarter showed an earnings beat, with EPS of $1.95 versus $1.81 expected and revenue of $175.6 million, up 9.8% year over year. However, current fiscal-year guidance and the Hold-heavy analyst consensus provide a less aggressive outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Wendy Pfeiffer sold 500 shares for approximately $79,000, while insider Bruce K. Posey separately sold 882 shares worth about $140,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing the signal’s significance, but insider selling can still weigh modestly on sentiment. Qualys Director Stock Sale

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc (NASDAQ: QLYS) is a leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions designed to help organizations streamline their IT security programs. Operating on a unified, modular platform, Qualys offers continuous visibility into global IT assets through a combination of lightweight cloud agents and on-premises scanner appliances. The platform supports an array of security and compliance use cases, enabling real-time detection of vulnerabilities, policy violations and misconfigurations across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments.

The company’s flagship Qualys Cloud Platform delivers a suite of integrated applications, including vulnerability management, detection and response (VMDR), policy compliance, web application scanning, file integrity monitoring, asset inventory and container security.