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Qualys (QLYS) closed at $140.61 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.36% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.1%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.1%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of security-analysis software had gained 4.3% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 3.66% and lagging the S&P 500’s gain of 4.4% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Qualys as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect Qualys to post earnings of $0.80 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.68%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $108.53 million, up 14.48% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.18 per share and revenue of $409.92 million, which would represent changes of +10.8% and +12.94%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Qualys should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Qualys is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Qualys’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 44.01. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 78.49, which means Qualys is trading at a discount to the group.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 167, which puts it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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