Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $207.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $204.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.11% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered Check Point Software Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $205.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.45.

Check Point Software Technologies Price Performance

Check Point Software Technologies stock opened at $181.40 on Thursday. Check Point Software Technologies has a 12-month low of $145.75 and a 12-month high of $210.70. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $183.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.79.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Arrow Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 62.5% during the third quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

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.