Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 7.740-7.880 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 7.160. The company issued revenue guidance of $732.0 million-$738.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $724.6 million. Qualys also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 1.910-1.980 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $185.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Qualys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair cut Qualys from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $208.00 target price on Qualys in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.87.

Qualys Trading Up 14.3%

Shares of QLYS traded up $23.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $184.16. 850,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 766,222. Qualys has a 52 week low of $74.51 and a 52 week high of $201.54. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.99.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $182.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.57 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.41% and a return on equity of 37.15%. Qualys’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Qualys has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Analysts predict that Qualys will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualys

In other Qualys news, Director Wendy Pfeiffer sold 500 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.19, for a total transaction of $79,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,931,499.90. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.17, for a total value of $139,505.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,915,519.13. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,855 shares of company stock valued at $9,706,670. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

More Qualys News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Qualys reported earnings of $1.98 per share, above the $1.78 analyst consensus and up from $1.68 a year earlier. Revenue increased 11.1% year over year to $182.18 million, exceeding estimates of $178.57 million. Qualys Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised substantially. Qualys now expects 2026 revenue of $732 million to $738 million, compared with its prior range of $721 million to $727 million. Full-year EPS guidance of $7.74 to $7.88 is also above the $7.16 consensus estimate. Third-quarter revenue and EPS forecasts likewise topped Wall Street expectations. Qualys Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and demand trends remain supportive. Adjusted EBITDA reached $83.8 million. Management highlighted AI-related security products, Risk Operations Center adoption, federal business momentum, partner execution and early QFlex engagement as growth opportunities.
• Positive Sentiment: New vulnerability-detection technology could support future sales. Qualys launched InstaScan, designed to identify newly disclosed vulnerabilities rapidly using existing asset telemetry and AI-driven correlation. Qualys Launches InstaScan
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach is scheduled. Qualys management will participate in a fireside chat and hold one-on-one meetings at Canaccord Genuity’s 46th Annual Growth Conference. The event may provide additional visibility but does not immediately change financial forecasts. Qualys to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conference
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale provides a modest counterpoint. CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares for approximately $249,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale represented about 2.1% of her holdings and is less concerning than an unexpected discretionary sale, but continued insider selling may temper sentiment.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Qualys during the 2nd quarter worth $292,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the third quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualys during the second quarter valued at $213,000. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.