Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Releases Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.280-1.380 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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 Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $3.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $128.23. 1,477,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,681. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $124.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.41. Qualys has a twelve month low of $119.17 and a twelve month high of $206.35.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on QLYS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Qualys from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on Qualys from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualys presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total value of $165,446.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,830,273.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $876,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,493,851.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total value of $165,446.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,830,273.24. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 10,919 shares of company stock worth $1,360,140. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.