Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 60.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,114 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,612 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.69% of Qualys worth $35,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys during the 4th quarter worth about $3,744,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. Defined Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Qualys by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Qualys by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 181,249 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,415,000 after purchasing an additional 69,035 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualys Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $120.62 on Friday. Qualys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $174.20. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.88.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 4,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $628,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 112,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,785,980. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total transaction of $123,180.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,700,119.70. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,480 shares of company stock valued at $3,579,506 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on QLYS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.21.

Qualys 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.