Yahoo Finance Investors Who Bought Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Shares Five Years Ago Are Now Up 173%
While Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 12% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been very strong. In fact, the share price is 173% higher today. Generally speaking the long term returns will give you a better idea of business quality than short periods can. The more important question is whether the stock is too cheap or too expensive today.
View our latest analysis for Qualys
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
During five years of share price growth, Qualys achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 86% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 22% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Qualys has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Qualys stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
A Different Perspective
Qualys provided a TSR of 3.9% over the last twelve months. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 22% per year for five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. If you would like to research Qualys in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.
But note: Qualys may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
