Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 7.170-7.450 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 6.590. The company issued revenue guidance of $717.0 million-$725.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $718.1 million. Qualys also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.760-1.830 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on QLYS shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Qualys from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Northland Securities set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Qualys in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.57.

Qualys Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $127.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 827,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,388. Qualys has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $155.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.68 and a 200-day moving average of $135.30.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $175.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.18 million. Qualys had a net margin of 28.96% and a return on equity of 37.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Qualys has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.760-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.170-7.450 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 3,414 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.63, for a total value of $463,040.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,001,763.07. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.76, for a total transaction of $668,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 247,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,145,728. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,628 shares of company stock valued at $5,343,650. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Qualys News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Q4 EPS of $1.87 topped the Zacks/consensus $1.78 and revenue of $175.3M beat estimates, showing 10% YoY revenue growth and healthy margins. Qualys (QLYS) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised guidance — FY2026 EPS guidance was lifted to $7.17–$7.45 (vs. consensus ~$6.59) and Q1 EPS to $1.76–$1.83 (vs. ~$1.57), signaling stronger expected profitability. Qualys Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized more buybacks — company increased its share repurchase program by $200M, which supports EPS and returns capital to shareholders. Qualys’ Q4 results, outlook surpass expectations; increases share repurchase program by $200M
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains mixed — consensus ratings skew toward “Hold” with a blended price target near the current levels, so upgrades/ downgrades could sway movement. MarketBeat Qualys coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading dynamics — volume is elevated versus average and the stock is near its 50/200-day moving averages; short-term technical flows and profit-taking after the run-up can outweigh fundamentals. Qualys Stock data
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CFO Joo Mi Kim sold ~3,414 shares recently, which some investors view as a negative signal even if the amount is modest relative to total holdings. Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) CFO Joo Mi Kim Sells 3,414 Shares

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualys by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 4.6% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,038 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Qualys by 3.7% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Qualys by 4.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,818 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Qualys by 0.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,876 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,821,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Company Profile

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.