Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Qualys, Inc. $QLYS

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,200 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,335,000. Qualys accounts for about 0.7% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of QLYS. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Qualys in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Qualys by 451.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 270 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the second quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Qualys by 3,218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 531 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of QLYS stock opened at $133.00 on Wednesday. Qualys, Inc. has a one year low of $112.61 and a one year high of $155.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 0.50.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The software maker reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $169.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.30 million. Qualys had a net margin of 28.96% and a return on equity of 37.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Qualys has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.930-7.000 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.730-1.800 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total value of $145,706.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,078,259.32. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 4,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total value of $621,549.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 94,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,380,257.44. This trade represents a 4.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,214 shares of company stock worth $4,880,609. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on QLYS. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Qualys from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.57.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc (NASDAQ: QLYS) is a leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions designed to help organizations streamline their IT security programs. Operating on a unified, modular platform, Qualys offers continuous visibility into global IT assets through a combination of lightweight cloud agents and on-premises scanner appliances. The platform supports an array of security and compliance use cases, enabling real-time detection of vulnerabilities, policy violations and misconfigurations across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments.

The company’s flagship Qualys Cloud Platform delivers a suite of integrated applications, including vulnerability management, detection and response (VMDR), policy compliance, web application scanning, file integrity monitoring, asset inventory and container security.