Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price Target Lowered at Jefferies Financial Group

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $235.00 to $215.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.78% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Qualys from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Qualys from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Northland Securities set a $208.00 price target on Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Qualys from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Qualys from $241.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Qualys Price Performance

NASDAQ QLYS traded down $27.35 on Tuesday, hitting $175.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,554,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,970. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $191.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.06. Qualys has a 12-month low of $74.51 and a 12-month high of $235.54.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.16. Qualys had a net margin of 29.38% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 3,200 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total transaction of $544,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 180,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,666,476.90. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Bruce Posey sold 881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total value of $166,967.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,807 shares in the company, valued at $10,955,582.64. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,672 shares of company stock worth $2,192,747 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QLYS. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Qualys during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 472 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys reported third-quarter revenue of about $188 million, up 11% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $2.12, topping analyst estimates. It also raised its FY2026 revenue outlook to $736.9 million–$738.9 million and forecast Q4 EPS above consensus. Qualys Q3 2026 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its mROC alliance with partners covering mobile, operational technology, IoT and identity security, broadening its risk-management offering. Qualys expands global mROC alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target changes were mixed: JPMorgan lowered its target to $215 and Morgan Stanley raised its target to $140 while retaining an underweight rating; RBC, Wedbush, Piper Sandler and Baird also raised targets but maintained neutral or sector-perform ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys plans to participate in the UBS Global Technology and AI Conference, an investor-engagement event with no announced financial impact. Qualys investor conference announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and raised annual outlook, reports point to margin concerns and analyst warnings of slower Q4 billings growth. Those concerns appear to be outweighing the headline results and contributing to the negative reaction. Qualys declines as analysts highlight Q4 billings growth slowdown

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based security and compliance software to help organizations identify and manage cybersecurity risks. Its platform brings together information about an organization’s IT assets and security posture to support vulnerability management, threat detection, and compliance activities. Qualys offers products and services for vulnerability assessment and remediation, cloud security, endpoint protection, web application security, and policy compliance. Its solutions are designed to help customers monitor systems across cloud environments, on-premises infrastructure, and other connected assets.