Qualys Inc. Falls 26% On Outlook: Competitors Unscathed

Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) tumbled about 26 percent Tuesday after the cloud security company cut its outlook on slower-than expected sales.The Redwood City, California-based company traded recently at $40.54, down $14.54, while other computer security concerns appeared unscathed by the news.Late Wednesday, Qualys' Chief Financial Donald C. McCauley cut his forecast for the company's 2015 revenue growth to 24 percent, from 26 percent, but left his earnings projection unchanged."We will be able to effectively manage costs and leverage the strength of our platform," McCauley said.Qualys now expects 2015 revenue of $165 million to $166.5 million, down from its earlier projection of $167.3 million to $169.3 million. It maintained a forecast for adjusted earnings of $0.50 to $0.55 cents a share. Wall Street expected profit of $0.53 cents a share, on revenue of $168.4 million.McCauley told investors that growth in Qualy's core "vulnerability management" business slowed in the first quarter to 19 percent, from 20 percent in the preceding period.The company posted first-quarter adjusted income of $0.15 cents a share, up from $0.05 cents a year earlier.Revenues for the first quarter of 2015 increased by 24 percent to $37.5 million, from $30.4 million a year earlier.Analysts expected income of $0.11 cents a share, on revenue of $38 million.