Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 46,399 Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its stake in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 687,497 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 46,399 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 1.88% of Qualys worth $96,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 56.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 53.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 639 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qualys by 68.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS stock opened at $143.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92 and a beta of 0.56. Qualys, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.17 and a 12 month high of $174.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $141.33 and its 200 day moving average is $135.37.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted 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 39.64%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Qualys, Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.37, for a total transaction of $209,616.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 113,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,885,415.24. This trade represents a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 8,555 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.62, for a total transaction of $1,322,774.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,900,627.84. The trade was a 11.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,288 shares of company stock valued at $4,209,716. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on QLYS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Qualys from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.57.

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.