Short Interest in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Rises By 19.5%

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,920,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the May 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Currently, 10.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 432,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.1 days.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $136.74. 381,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,074. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.01. Qualys has a 12-month low of $122.53 and a 12-month high of $206.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 0.47.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $145.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.67 million. Qualys had a net margin of 28.48% and a return on equity of 47.28%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on QLYS. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Qualys in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $172.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Qualys in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total transaction of $235,821.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,057 shares in the company, valued at $10,398,729.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total value of $235,821.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,057 shares in the company, valued at $10,398,729.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Wendy Pfeiffer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.72, for a total transaction of $291,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,162.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,543 shares of company stock worth $3,250,832. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Qualys by 121.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 360,294 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $70,719,000 after purchasing an additional 197,911 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Qualys by 50.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 501,847 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $83,743,000 after acquiring an additional 169,293 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Qualys by 169.7% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 245,522 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $40,970,000 after acquiring an additional 154,492 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Qualys by 172.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 193,056 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $37,893,000 after acquiring an additional 122,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Qualys by 201,932.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 117,179 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $23,000,000 after acquiring an additional 117,121 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.