Wall Street Analyst Reviews Qualys Earnings

In a report published Tuesday, analysts at Pacific Crest Securities maintained their Sector Weight rating on

. The company reported lower than expected revenue for Q1, while lowering its forward guidance. The slowing vulnerability management (VM) market, along with slipped deals and a back-end loaded quarter led to revenue below the estimates and the guidance in Q1. However, the company reported higher than estimated EPS for the quarter, driven by lower than anticipated operating expenses. "After a year of increasing billings and revenue results primarily tied to the VM market accelerating, the segment slowed in Q1, causing a revenue shortfall and negatively impacting forward expectations," the analysts explained. The company introduced three new solutions in the recent past: Cloud Agent, Continuous Monitoring and the WAS-WAF integration, which are expected to bring about a positive mix shift away from the VM market. The company has lowered its guidance range by 2 percent at the midpoint. "We believe investors had anticipated continued acceleration in revenue and, despite billings strength during the quarter, are likely to be disappointed with both results and the outlook," the analysts added.