Short Interest in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) Decreases By 6.8%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,020,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the November 30th total of 3,240,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 704,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Check Point Software Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHKP. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,094,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,105,000 after acquiring an additional 464,821 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 10.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,108,685 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $677,869,000 after purchasing an additional 391,983 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the second quarter worth about $47,244,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Check Point Software Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,922,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,133,175 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $218,488,000 after buying an additional 252,581 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Check Point Software Technologies stock opened at $186.70 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.25. The company had revenue of $635.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.96 million. Check Point Software Technologies had a net margin of 33.17% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CHKP shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush upped their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.05.

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.