First Nebraska Trust Co Makes New $3.15 Million Investment in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. $CHKP

First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,508 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,146,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 254 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 90.0% in the 2nd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 190 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 98.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CHKP opened at $142.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 1 year low of $112.23 and a 1 year high of $206.43.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.01. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 33.56% and a net margin of 31.74%. The firm had revenue of $669.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $672.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CHKP. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Yorkville Ives started coverage on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded Check Point Software Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $133.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.32.

Key Stories Impacting Check Point Software Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Check Point Software Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies kept its “buy” rating and sees a $175 price target, while Robert W. Baird maintained “outperform” with a $170 target. Both targets were reduced, but still imply meaningful upside from the reference price.
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud-based subscription revenue grew 11% in Q3, supporting the view that the company’s transition to recurring offerings could help drive a turnaround. Check Point also appointed Adam Ely as chief business officer to lead its company-wide growth strategy. Check Point’s turnaround analysis Chief business officer appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions were mixed. Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS, Barclays and RBC adjusted targets, but retained neutral, equal-weight or sector-perform stances. Their new targets range from $140 to $155, signaling limited near-term conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 revenue was $669.8 million, below the $672.1 million consensus and down 1.1% year over year. EPS of $2.49 narrowly beat the $2.48 estimate, but was below the year-ago $3.94. Reports also highlighted a 19% drop in products and licenses revenue, which may weigh on future maintenance revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $720–$770 million fell short of the $787.3 million consensus, and the CEO indicated recovery is taking longer than anticipated. Full-year EPS guidance is above consensus, but revenue guidance of $2.7–$2.8 billion reaches consensus only at the top end. These outlook concerns are a likely source of pressure on the shares. Revenue miss and recovery outlook

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nataly Kremer sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.08, for a total transaction of $478,004.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,903,597.76. This represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 29.00% of the company’s stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Company Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a cybersecurity company that develops products and services designed to protect organizations, governments and consumers from cyber threats. Its offerings help secure networks, cloud environments, endpoints, mobile devices, data and remote access, with capabilities including threat prevention, firewall protection, intrusion prevention, email security and security management.

The company organizes its portfolio under platforms that include Quantum for network security, CloudGuard for cloud security and Harmony for user, endpoint and remote-access protection.