Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,213 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 142,923 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Qualys were worth $12,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,333,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Qualys by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 23,323 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,270,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $123.09 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.98. Qualys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.17 and a 52 week high of $174.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total value of $73,227.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,118,226.04. The trade was a 0.80 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares in the company, valued at $34,994,292.48. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on QLYS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $146.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.57.

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.