Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,320,000 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the February 29th total of 2,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 730,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Check Point Software Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 138.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,505,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,775,000 after purchasing an additional 875,580 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $80,456,000. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 121.2% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,083,364 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,391,000 after purchasing an additional 593,623 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in Check Point Software Technologies in the third quarter valued at $65,522,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 1,535.7% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 413,835 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,156,000 after buying an additional 388,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHKP traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.80. 121,339 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,094. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.61. Check Point Software Technologies has a one year low of $117.18 and a one year high of $168.82.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $663.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.09 million. Check Point Software Technologies had a net margin of 34.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CHKP. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Check Point Software Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.70.

About Check Point Software Technologies

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.