Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) had its price objective increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the software maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 21.53% from the stock’s previous close.

QLYS has been the subject of several other research reports. Northland Securities set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Qualys from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.67.

Qualys Price Performance

NASDAQ QLYS traded down $24.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.42. The company had a trading volume of 620,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,794. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $74.51 and a fifty-two week high of $235.54. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average is $137.06.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The software maker reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.16. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 29.38%. The company had revenue of $188.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Qualys will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.52, for a total transaction of $166,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,955,582.64. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sumedh Thakar sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.05, for a total value of $544,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 180,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,666,476.90. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,672 shares of company stock valued at $2,192,747 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Qualys during the third quarter valued at approximately $669,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,119 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,323,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its position in Qualys by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 26,593 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Qualys by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 495 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Qualys by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,701 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualys

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualys reported Q3 revenue of $188.05 million, up 10.7% year over year, and earnings of $2.12 per share, topping analyst estimates. The company also raised its FY2026 outlook: EPS guidance is $8.07–$8.14 versus a $7.44 consensus, while revenue guidance is $736.9–$738.9 million versus $735.5 million expected. Qualys Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush, Piper Sandler, and Robert W. Baird raised their price targets, but each maintained a neutral rating—suggesting improved valuation views without a stronger endorsement. Wedbush rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualys announced an expanded mROC alliance spanning mobile, operational technology, and identity security, and said management will meet investors at an upcoming UBS technology conference. These developments may support longer-term engagement but offer limited immediate financial impact. Qualys expands global mROC alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $191–$193 million is only slightly above the $190.9 million consensus, with expected year-over-year growth of 9%–10%. The restrained revenue outlook appears to be outweighing the earnings beat and higher full-year forecast in the market’s reaction. Qualys earnings beat; stock falls on revenue outlook

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based security and compliance software to help organizations identify and manage cybersecurity risks. Its platform brings together information about an organization’s IT assets and security posture to support vulnerability management, threat detection, and compliance activities. Qualys offers products and services for vulnerability assessment and remediation, cloud security, endpoint protection, web application security, and policy compliance. Its solutions are designed to help customers monitor systems across cloud environments, on-premises infrastructure, and other connected assets.