Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) Stock

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $185.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 1.13% from the company’s previous close.

CHKP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Check Point Software Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.33.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Check Point Software Technologies stock opened at $187.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.73. Check Point Software Technologies has a 12-month low of $145.75 and a 12-month high of $210.70.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 33.17%. The company had revenue of $635.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Check Point Software Technologies’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Check Point Software Technologies will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Check Point Software Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,110 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,079,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,201 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Check Point Software Technologies by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 394,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,092,000 after acquiring an additional 51,073 shares during the period. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Check Point Software Technologies Company Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.