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

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $230.00 to $240.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the technology company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.50% from the stock’s current price.

CHKP has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens dropped their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $255.00 to $229.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Check Point Software Technologies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $221.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Check Point Software Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.44.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHKP traded up $2.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $221.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 476,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.62. Check Point Software Technologies has a 1 year low of $153.88 and a 1 year high of $234.36.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.02. Check Point Software Technologies had a net margin of 32.97% and a return on equity of 32.40%. The company had revenue of $637.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. Check Point Software Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Check Point Software Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $428,820,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $360,257,000 after buying an additional 487,823 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 28.1% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,830,874 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $417,280,000 after acquiring an additional 401,150 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,822,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $340,314,000 after acquiring an additional 269,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,687,393 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $384,591,000 after buying an additional 46,713 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.