Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $120.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on QLYS. StockNews.com upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.14.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of Qualys stock opened at $128.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.03. Qualys has a one year low of $119.17 and a one year high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 predict that Qualys will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.64, for a total transaction of $226,676.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,530,036.88. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,071 shares of company stock worth $3,624,127. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $299,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 8,463 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,967 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.