Citigroup Inc. Boosts Holdings in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 40.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,146 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 17,440 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Qualys were worth $7,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Qualys by 294.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Qualys by 149.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 639 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $153.60 on Friday. Qualys, Inc. has a one year low of $119.17 and a one year high of $206.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.08.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. Qualys had a return on equity of 40.24% and a net margin of 28.72%. The firm had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on QLYS. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Qualys from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Qualys from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.80.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $876,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 179,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,493,851.29. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.54, for a total value of $76,100.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,599.04. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,919 shares of company stock valued at $2,993,000. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.