Northland Securities Reiterates “Market Perform” Rating for Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by analysts at Northland Securities in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $146.00 price target on the software maker’s stock, down from their prior price target of $150.00. Northland Securities’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.69% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Qualys from $120.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualys presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.57.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $135.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.05 and its 200 day moving average is $135.53. Qualys has a 1-year low of $119.17 and a 1-year high of $174.73. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 39.64% and a net margin of 28.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total value of $123,180.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,700,119.70. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.31, for a total transaction of $585,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,162.46. This represents a 24.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,259 shares of company stock valued at $4,578,153 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the third quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Qualys by 208.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 86,187 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $11,072,000 after buying an additional 58,252 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 428.9% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 14,804 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Qualys by 40.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,015 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Qualys by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 63,320 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $8,134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.