Yahoo Finance Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Insiders Have Been Selling
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS).
What Is Insider Selling?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, ‘insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.’
View our latest analysis for Qualys
Qualys Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Director Peter Pace sold US$2.3m worth of shares at a price of US$76.35 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$71.26. They might be selling for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard to argue this is a bullish sign. We generally tread carefully if insiders have been selling on market, even if they sold slightly above the current price. Peter Pace was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
The chart below shows insider transactions over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership of Qualys
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It’s great to see that Qualys insiders own 15% of the company, worth about US$460m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Qualys Tell Us?
The fact that there have been no Qualys insider transactions recently certainly doesn’t bother us. It’s great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back at the last year, we don’t gain confidence from the Qualys insiders selling. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Qualys, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
