Qualys QLYS shares have gained 28.1% in the past month, outperforming the Zacks Security industry and the S&P 500 index’s return of 8.8% and 3%, respectively. The stock also outperformed the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s decline of 0.1% in the same time frame. The outperformance reflects investors' confidence in Qualys’ robust portfolio, solid customer retention ability, large partner base and strong financials.
Qualys Grows on the Back of Innovative Portfolio
Qualys has increased the depth of its portfolio with multiple product launches and enhancements throughout 2024. This year, Qualys launched the industry’s first Risk Operations Center with Enterprise TruRisk Management. The company also launched Qualys TotalAI to derisk generative AI and large language model applications from cyber breaches.
QLYS also launched TruRisk Eliminate and CyberSecurity Asset Management 3.0. TotalCloud 2.0. Qualys TruRisk Eliminate was launched to provide remediation solutions for situations where patching is not feasible. The TruRisk Eliminate uses patchless patching and targeted isolation methods.
CyberSecurity Asset Management 3.0 is an enhancement of Enterprise TruRisk Platform, which now uses Qualys’ leading vulnerability assessment capability integrated into External Attack Surface Management system. Qualys TotalCloud 2.0 is an upgrade to QLYS' AI-powered cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP). This upgrade will enable CNAPP users to get a single prioritized view of cloud risk through the SaaS application.
QLYS is also the leading provider of Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response (VMDR) solutions. Qualys has been witnessing increasing VMDR customer penetration for the past several quarters, which indicates the growing adoption of its VMDR solutions. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, VMDR customer penetration reached 56% from 48% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.
Qualys' initiatives have led to a 15% increase in customers spending of $500,000 or more in the third quarter of 2024.
Qualys 1 Month Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Qualys Grows on the Back of a Strong Partner Base
QLYS is also benefiting from a large partner base that includes big names like Verizon, Cognizant, Fujitsu, IBM, NTT, Accenture, Deutsche Telekom, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft MSFT, Alphabet’s GOOGL Google Cloud Platform and Infosys INFY.
Microsoft and Qualys have been partners for a long time. Earlier this year, QLYS and MSFT collaborated to enhance the latter’s Security Copilot product. QLYS and Alphabet’s Google Cloud have partnered to offer customers a one-click vulnerability assessment through Qualys Agent. Infosys, on the other hand, uses Qualys VMDR and Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response system in its Cyber Next Platform.
These factors make Qualys an attractive recipient for investors. QLYS expects revenues in the range of $602.9-$605.9 million for 2024. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $604.5 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 9%.
The company projects its non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $5.81-$5.91. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pegged at $5.85, indicating a year-over-year increase of 11%.
What Should Investors Do?
Qualys’ robust position in the cybersecurity space is due to its innovative portfolio and strong partner base. The company is also growing its customer base on the back of its offerings. Considering these factors, it is prudent that investors should buy this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock right now. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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