WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,590 shares of the software maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Qualys were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Qualys by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 56.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $127.18 on Friday. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $174.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. Research analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total transaction of $995,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,144 shares in the company, valued at $34,994,292.48. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total transaction of $123,180.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,700,119.70. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,595 shares of company stock valued at $3,691,922. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.