Horizon Investments LLC Takes $1.51 Million Position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,770 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,510,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Qualys by 56.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $132.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $136.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.08. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.17 and a 1-year high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.24, for a total transaction of $121,615.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,177 shares in the company, valued at $8,986,296.48. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,926 shares of company stock worth $3,745,742. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on QLYS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualys has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.14.

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.