Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $121.21, but opened at $141.46. Qualys shares last traded at $143.2580, with a volume of 193,489 shares changing hands.

The software maker reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.30. Qualys had a net margin of 29.04% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The business had revenue of $169.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.930-7.000 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.730-1.800 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualys news, Director Kristi Marie Rogers sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.70, for a total value of $228,990.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,881.20. This represents a 16.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.82, for a total value of $1,077,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 203,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,865,065.82. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,346 shares of company stock worth $5,028,258 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Qualys by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,027 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $13,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the 2nd quarter valued at $330,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Qualys by 818.1% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,857 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 15,912 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 80.6% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,238 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 308,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.08 and a 200-day moving average of $134.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59 and a beta of 0.58.

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.