Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $128.23, but opened at $153.75. Qualys shares last traded at $148.63, with a volume of 397,348 shares.

The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.74 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 44.80% and a net margin of 29.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on QLYS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Qualys from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.80.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $164,654.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,885,508.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 634 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total transaction of $77,468.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,501,252.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $164,654.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,618 shares in the company, valued at $6,885,508.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,140. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Qualys by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Qualys by 93.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,150 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the first quarter worth approximately $240,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Qualys during the first quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Qualys in the first quarter valued at $469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.45.

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.