Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $140.71, but opened at $132.88. Qualys shares last traded at $140.30, with a volume of 99,044 shares traded.

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 net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 40.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on QLYS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Qualys from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualys presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.80.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.66, for a total transaction of $1,047,620.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at $33,741,295.98. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.31, for a total transaction of $585,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,162.46. This represents a 24.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,259 shares of company stock worth $4,578,153 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Qualys by 80.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 432 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 56.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.66. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92 and a beta of 0.56.

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.