This Cloud Company's CEO Just Sold $1.2 Million Worth of Shares

Sumedh S Thakar, CEO & President of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS), reported the sale of 8,500 shares following the exercise of stock options on Nov. 14, 2025, as disclosed in a SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summary

Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($142.68); post-transaction value based on Nov. 14, 2025 market close ($143.07).

Key questions

• How does the size of this transaction compare to Sumedh S Thakar's recent insider sales?
  This sale of 8,500 shares exceeds the recent median insider sale of 7,000 shares from June 14, 2024 through November 14, 2025. The current transaction accounted for 3.23% of pre-transaction direct holdings, above the recent median of 1.95% per sale.
• What is the context of this transaction regarding derivative activity?
  The Form 4 filing indicates the sale was linked to the exercise of 6,500 stock options, with the exercised shares immediately sold in the open market. This structure suggests that the sale was primarily driven by option exercise and liquidity realization rather than a shift in long-term direct holdings strategy.
• What is the impact on Sumedh S Thakar's direct ownership?
  After this transaction, direct holdings decreased to 254,800 shares, valued at approximately $36.6 million as of the Nov. 14, 2025 market close. This represents a reduction of 3.23% in direct share count from the previous reported level.
• How does the sale align with recent price performance and market conditions?
  Shares were sold at a weighted average price of $142.68, with the market closing at $143.57 on the transaction date. As of Nov. 14, 2025, the stock had declined 3.9% over the prior year, and the current price as of November 21, 2025 stands at $143.07, slightly above the transaction price of $142.68.

Company overview

* 1-year performance is calculated using November 14, 2025 as the reference date.

Company snapshot

• Offers a suite of cloud-based IT, security, and compliance solutions, including vulnerability management, threat protection, and cloud security assessment, primarily through the Qualys Cloud Platform.
• Generates revenue via direct sales and channel partners, licensing its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to enterprises, government entities, and SMBs on a subscription basis.
• Serves a diversified client base across industries such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and government, targeting organizations with complex security and compliance needs.

Qualys is a leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, enabling organizations to identify, manage, and remediate IT vulnerabilities at scale. The company's SaaS platform integrates asset discovery, vulnerability management, and compliance monitoring, supporting customers' evolving cybersecurity requirements. Qualys leverages its unified platform and global reach to maintain a competitive position in the cybersecurity software market.

Foolish take

Thakar's 8,500-share sale was part of a routine stock option execution, in which 6,500 shares were vested and immediately sold on the open market as part of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The CEO sold an additional 2,000 shares on the same day, likely locking in some recent share price gains before the end of the year and after a strong earnings report from the company. The cloud cybersecurity company is finishing the year relatively flat, but it hasn't been a smooth ride. At one point in 2025, its stock was down nearly 20%. This comes during another strong year for the overall market, with the S&P 500 up about 17.5% as of Dec. 23. The Nasdaq-100 technology sector index has done even better, up more than 23%.

As enterprises continue to reconsider their technology stack among a dynamic tech and security landscape, Qualys' products and approach to securing customers may give it an advantage. The company appears to be moving in the right direction. Fiscal third-quarter results, reported Nov. 4, featured a 14% increase in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) gross profit, an increased GAAP gross margin to 84% compared to 81% for the same quarter in 2024, a 33% increase in GAAP operating income, and a 9% increase in GAAP net income.

Qualys is a midcap stock that has been part of the cloud and cybersecurity investment narratives this year. It currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 28, which is below the broader software industry average of roughly 33. Simply Wall St. gives the stock a proprietary Fair Ratio of 25.1, which may indicate the stock is still slightly overvalued given the company's earnings growth, margins, and overall risk.

Glossary

Insider sale: The sale of company stock by an executive, director, or other person with access to non-public information.
Form 4: A U.S. SEC filing that discloses insider trades of a company's securities by officers, directors, or major shareholders.
Stock options: Contracts granting the right to buy company shares at a set price, often used as employee compensation.
Option exercise: The act of using stock options to purchase company shares at the predetermined price.
Derivative activity: Transactions involving financial instruments whose value is based on underlying assets, such as stock options.
Direct ownership: Shares held directly by an individual, not through intermediaries or funds.
Weighted average purchase price: The average price paid per share in a transaction, adjusted for the number of shares at each price.
Liquidity realization: Converting assets, such as exercised options, into cash by selling them in the market.
Open market: A public market where securities are bought and sold at current prices.
Median insider sale: The middle value of insider sale sizes during a specified period, used for comparison.
SaaS (software-as-a-service): A software delivery model where applications are accessed online via subscription rather than installed locally.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Sarah Sidlow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.