Insider Selling: Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Insider Sells $67,795.12 in Stock

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) insider Bruce K. Posey sold 524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total transaction of $67,795.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,416,557.14. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Qualys Price Performance

Qualys stock opened at $127.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.24. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.17 and a 1-year high of $174.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QLYS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.14.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QLYS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.