During December, there was a sizeable increase in the number of short positions held in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP). As of December 15, there was a total short interest of 2,240,000 shares, representing an increase of 8.7% compared to the total short interest of 2,060,000 shares as of November 31. The number of days needed to cover an area is currently 2.7 days. This figure was arrived at by considering that the daily trading volume for shares is, on average, 834,600. Short positions constitute 2.2% of the company’s total number of outstanding shares.
On October 27, Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) provided the general public with a report detailing its financial performance for the third quarter. The technology company reported earnings per share for the previous quarter that came in at $1.51, which was $0.06 more than the standard for the industry, which is $1.45, and was more than all expectations. The return on equity for Check Point Software Technologies was 26.20%, while the company’s net margin was 34.35%. In addition, the revenue for the quarter came in significantly higher than the $571.78 million analysts had anticipated, coming in at $577.60 million instead. During the previous year, the corporation made a profit of $1.44 per share of common stock. In comparison to the same period in the previous year, the third quarter saw a revenue increase of 8.2% for the company. Check Point Software Technologies is expected to earn $6.37 per share in the current fiscal year, according to market analysts’ forecasts.
In recent weeks, several significant investors have changed the amount of CHKP they are holding in their portfolios. The Massachusetts Financial Services Company, MA, increased the amount of Check Point Software Technologies stock owned by 20.2% during the third quarter. The Massachusetts Financial Services Co., MA, now has 7,631,197 shares in the technology company. These shares have a value of $854,846,000 and were acquired by purchasing an additional 1,280,868 shares during the most recent fiscal quarter. By making additional purchases of Check Point Software Technologies stock during the third quarter, Nordea Investment Management AB was able to raise the total value of the company’s stock holdings by 31.9%. The technology company’s stock now has a total value of approximately $370,677,000 after Nordea Investment Management AB purchased an additional 786,647 shares during the most recent quarter, bringing the total number of shares it owns in the company to 3,256,416. Call Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. increased the percentage of ownership it holds in Check Point Software Technologies by 116.2% over the second quarter of the fiscal year. Following the acquisition of 570,233 additional shares during the most recent quarter, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. now holds 1,060,810 shares in the technology company, which have a value of $129,185,000. This brings the total number of shares that the company owns in the company to 1,060,810. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased the amount of Check Point Software Technologies stock owned by 79.2% over the second quarter of 2018. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now has a total of 900,204 shares of the technology company’s stock, which have a value of $109,626,000, thanks to the acquisition of an additional 397,986 shares during the most recent quarter. Great West Life Assurance Company of Canada invested $35,461,000 in Check Point Software Technologies in the third quarter. This investment should not be considered the least significant of the three. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 64.76 percent of the company’s total share capital.
The NASDAQ CHKP market opened for trading on Tuesday with an opening price of $126.16. The company’s market capitalization is equivalent to $15.82 billion; it has a price-to-earnings ratio equivalent to 20.65, a PEG ratio equivalent to 2.70, and a beta equal to 0.68. Check Point Software Technologies has seen its share price go as low as $107.54 over the past year, while it has reached an all-time high of $149.62. The stock has traded at a moving average price of $122.81 over the past 200 trading days, while its price has traded at a moving average price of $128.77 over the last 50 trading days.
In recent times, various market analysts have provided their thoughts on the stock while discussing its performance. In a research report distributed by Morgan Stanley on Friday, October 28, the price target for Check Point Software Technologies was increased from $120.00 to $125.00. The previous price target was $120.00. The brokerage firm also gave the stock an “underweight” rating. After conducting research that was made available to the public on October 28, the Royal Bank of Canada increased its price objective for Check Point Software Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00. Before this adjustment, the price target was set at $300.00. In addition, the bank assigned the stock the rating of “sector performs” for its performance in the sector. Robert W. Baird maintained a “neutral” rating on Check Point Software Technologies shares and had a target price of $136.00 for the company’s stock in a report published on Wednesday, October 19. He also had a price objective of $136.00 for the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group announced that it has begun covering Check Point Software Technologies in a research report that was made public on Friday, October 7. They assigned the company a rating of “neutral,” and they projected that the stock would reach a price of $115.00 within the next three months. On October 12, StockNews.com finally covered Check Point Software Technologies for the first time. The story was published that day. They suggested to the investors that the best action would be to “buy” the shares. Nine analysts are in favor of buying the stock, seven are in favor of maintaining their current position, and five are in favor of selling the stock. The current average rating for Check Point Software Technologies is “Hold,” and the consensus for the price objective is $136.80, according to the data provided by Bloomberg.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is in charge of developing, marketing, and providing support for all of its information technology security services and products across the globe. The company offers numerous security solutions, including management, data security, endpoint security, network security, and others. In addition, it provides the Check Point Infinity Architecture, a form of the cyber security architecture that protects against cyberattacks of the 5th and 6th generations across various networks, endpoints, clouds, workloads, the Internet of Things, and mobile devices. This protection is available across all of these different platforms.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) short interest rises 8.7%.
