Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Holdings Lowered by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 63.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,352 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 7,586 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Qualys were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Qualys by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,640 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Qualys by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Qualys by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Qualys by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Qualys by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Down 1.3 %

QLYS stock opened at $116.99 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.44. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $174.20. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QLYS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.36.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 4,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $628,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,785,980. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,960 shares of company stock valued at $3,465,246. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.