Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Updates Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) updated its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.280-1.380 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.280. The company issued revenue guidance of $154.5 million-$157.5 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $154.1 million. Qualys also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 5.810-5.910 EPS.

Qualys Stock Down 0.9 %

Qualys stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.70. 61,153 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,614. Qualys has a 12-month low of $119.17 and a 12-month high of $206.35. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.45.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.23. Qualys had a net margin of 29.36% and a return on equity of 44.80%. The firm had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on QLYS shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Qualys from $167.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.54, for a total value of $76,100.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,695,599.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.54, for a total transaction of $76,100.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 86,576 shares in the company, valued at $10,695,599.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 55,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,885,508.40. This trade 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 have sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,140. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.