Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $119.17 and last traded at $119.24, with a volume of 313727 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $120.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $167.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. DA Davidson upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Qualys from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.23.

Qualys Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.47.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.20. Qualys had a net margin of 29.36% and a return on equity of 44.80%. The company had revenue of $148.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $164,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,618 shares in the company, valued at $6,885,508.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $164,654.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 55,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,885,508.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.93, for a total transaction of $82,500.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,077 shares in the company, valued at $11,662,222.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,535 shares of company stock worth $1,442,641. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Qualys by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,839,801 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $640,748,000 after purchasing an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Qualys by 14.5% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 926,093 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $118,966,000 after buying an additional 117,079 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Qualys by 50.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 501,847 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $83,743,000 after acquiring an additional 169,293 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 15.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 474,100 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $67,607,000 after acquiring an additional 63,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Qualys by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 439,434 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $62,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.