What Happened?
Shares of cybersecurity cloud platform provider Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) jumped 3.5% in the afternoon session after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated a potential for future interest rate cuts. Powell's remarks followed observations of slowing economic growth and a weaker labor market, signaling a potential policy shift from the central bank, which had held rates steady throughout 2025. This news was a relief for investors and spurred a broad rally, particularly benefiting technology stocks. Lower interest rates are often seen as a positive for tech companies as they can increase the value of future earnings and support higher valuations for growth-oriented stocks.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $134.83, up 3.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Qualys’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 2 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 10 months ago when the stock gained 20.6% on the news that the company reported a "beat and raise" quarter. Qualys results below past most of the key top-line metrics we track, including billings, EBITDA, and adjusted EPS. Adding to the good news is that revenue guidance for next quarter came in above expectations, and the company also raised full-year EPS guidance. The results suggest the company is doing a great job at meeting the needs of its customers, which should help drive strong customer retention and expansion. The recent launch of Qualys' TruRisk Eliminate for security remediation and Qualys TotalAI solutions also demonstrate the company's focus on adding value to its customers. Overall, this was a strong quarter for the company, demonstrating the company's strengths in the competitive security space.
Qualys is down 2.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $134.83 per share, it is trading 15.3% below its 52-week high of $159.23 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Qualys’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,259.
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