Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Should You Sell?

16 Mar 2026, 20:10 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS – Get Free Report) was down 4.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $94.65 and last traded at $94.83. Approximately 454,664 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 649,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Qualys from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Qualys from $139.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Qualys from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.46.

Read Our Latest Research Report on QLYS

Qualys Stock Down 4.8%

The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.14.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.09. Qualys had a net margin of 29.64% and a return on equity of 37.65%. The firm had revenue of $175.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Qualys has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.760-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.170-7.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total transaction of $145,706.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 68,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,078,259.32. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 6,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.46, for a total value of $873,399.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,367,296.94. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,244 shares of company stock worth $2,935,944 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 204.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Qualys by 451.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Qualys by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 284 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

About Qualys

(Get Free Report)

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.