13,931 Shares in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Acquired by Optimize Financial Inc

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,931 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,953,000. Qualys accounts for 1.5% of Optimize Financial Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $64,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,937,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Qualys by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,833 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth approximately $376,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $124.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.14. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.61 and a fifty-two week high of $174.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. Equities research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on QLYS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Qualys in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 4,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $628,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 112,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,785,980. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,480 shares of company stock worth $3,654,266 over the last ninety days. 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.