Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) - What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral: 20 of 30 brokerages rate Check Point Software Technologies “Hold,” while 10 recommend “Buy”; the average 12-month price target is $151.32.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.49, slightly above the $2.48 consensus, but revenue of $669.8 million missed estimates and fell 1.1% year over year.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target to $150 with a neutral rating, while TD Cowen reaffirmed its buy rating; Wedbush downgraded the stock to neutral.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $151.32.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $168.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Saturday, August 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital set a $105.00 price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush cut shares of Check Point Software Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of CHKP traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.18. 731,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,630,291. The business's 50 day moving average price is $139.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. Check Point Software Technologies has a 1-year low of $112.23 and a 1-year high of $200.20.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $669.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $672.06 million. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 31.74%. The firm's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Check Point Software Technologies will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Check Point Software Technologies

In related news, insider Nataly Kremer sold 3,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.08, for a total transaction of $478,004.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,347 shares in the company, valued at $2,903,597.76. This represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 29.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Check Point Software Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 34,128 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,380,000 after purchasing an additional 15,631 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the third quarter worth about $859,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 185.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 374,800 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,106,000 after buying an additional 243,347 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 87.3% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,059 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 94,866 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,176,000 after buying an additional 8,933 shares during the period. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point Software Technologies is a cybersecurity company that develops products and services to protect organizations' networks, cloud environments, devices, and users. Its offerings include network security appliances and software, cloud security tools, endpoint and workspace protection, and centralized security management. The company's product families include Quantum for network security, CloudGuard for cloud security, and Harmony for user and endpoint protection. Check Point also provides threat prevention, security research, and related support services to businesses and other organizations around the world.

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