Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,441 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Qualys were worth $5,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 100.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 367,470 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $52,401,000 after buying an additional 184,403 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Qualys by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 286,005 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $40,771,000 after purchasing an additional 139,897 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 926,093 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $118,966,000 after purchasing an additional 117,079 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,132,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 25.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,970 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $44,994,000 after purchasing an additional 64,394 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on QLYS. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.80.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, Director Jeffrey P. Hank sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.31, for a total value of $585,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,162.46. This trade represents a 24.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.66, for a total transaction of $1,047,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,741,295.98. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,919 shares of company stock worth $2,993,000. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of QLYS opened at $153.60 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.89. Qualys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.17 and a 1 year high of $206.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.47.

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

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.