Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. $CHKP Stock Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 47.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,451 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,694 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 16.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 809,115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $115,582,000 after purchasing an additional 112,713 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 808,428 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,484,000 after purchasing an additional 170,024 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 518,529 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $74,072,000 after purchasing an additional 93,945 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,445,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Check Point Software Technologies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 458,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,518,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of CHKP opened at $141.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.52. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $112.23 and a fifty-two week high of $206.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.01. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 38.80% and a net margin of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $669.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nataly Kremer sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.08, for a total value of $478,004.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,903,597.76. This trade represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 29.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Check Point Software Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Check Point Software Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Check Point reported quarterly EPS of $2.49, narrowly ahead of the $2.48 consensus estimate. Management described the quarter as a potential trough and expects business conditions to improve gradually. Check Point Reports In-Line Q3 EPS
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to produce strong profitability, including a reported 37.9% net margin and 38.8% return on equity. A $25 million research-and-development tax credit also lifted the operating margin during the quarter. Check Point Revenue Dips 1%, Calls a Trough

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHKP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Capital set a $105.00 price target on Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank upgraded Check Point Software Technologies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Check Point Software Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.04.

Check Point Software Technologies Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a cybersecurity company that develops products and services designed to protect organizations, governments and consumers from cyber threats. Its offerings help secure networks, cloud environments, endpoints, mobile devices, data and remote access, with capabilities including threat prevention, firewall protection, intrusion prevention, email security and security management.

The company organizes its portfolio under platforms that include Quantum for network security, CloudGuard for cloud security and Harmony for user, endpoint and remote-access protection.