Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,172 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 5,964 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Qualys were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Qualys by 1,386.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,699 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,876,000 after purchasing an additional 331,766 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,312,662 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $604,721,000 after buying an additional 131,339 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Qualys by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $147,178,000 after acquiring an additional 123,530 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Qualys during the 4th quarter valued at $15,937,000. Finally, CDAM UK Ltd grew its holdings in Qualys by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. CDAM UK Ltd now owns 611,793 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $85,786,000 after acquiring an additional 108,880 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total value of $123,180.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,700,119.70. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.17, for a total transaction of $995,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,994,292.48. This represents a 2.77 % 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. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS opened at $121.35 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.71. Qualys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.61 and a 1-year high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 38.52%. Equities analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Qualys from $120.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.21.

Qualys Company 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.