Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP – Get Rating) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CHKP shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Monday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Check Point Software Technologies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 17th.

NASDAQ CHKP opened at $142.78 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.27. Check Point Software Technologies has a 12 month low of $107.85 and a 12 month high of $149.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.62.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 25.39% and a net margin of 37.64%. The company had revenue of $599.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Check Point Software Technologies will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 3.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,509 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,681 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,795 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Check Point Software Technologies by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 249 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 27,450 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 86.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Check Point Software Technologies (Get Rating)

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. engages in the development and market of software and hardware solutions for information technology security. Its products include threat prevention, next generation firewalls, mobile security, and security management. The company was founded by Gil Shwed, Marius Nacht, and Shlomo Kramer in July 1993 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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