Check Point up 22% since new CEO announced

Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies Limited (Nasdaq: CHKP) has seen its stock price rise 36% since the start of 2024. The stock price closed Friday 0.86% higher at $207.16, near its record high, giving it a market capitalization of $22.784 billion and cementing its position as Israel’s most valuable company. The stock price has risen 22% since the appointment of Nadav Zafrir as the new CEO was announced in late July, adding $4 billion to the company’s market capitalization.

Later this week, Check Point will report third-quarter results, and the fourth full quarter with Jill Schwed named as CEO. He has held the position since he co-founded the company, but will become CEO on December 1, when Zafrir, co-founder of investment fund Team8, takes the reins. Analysts expect Check Point to report revenue growth of 7% and earnings per share 8.7% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2023.

Amid these positive trends, a small cloud affected Check Point last week when the US Security Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the company $995,000, along with other cybersecurity firms, for misleading reports about cybersecurity risks. According to the SEC, cybersecurity companies have agreed to pay civil penalties to settle SEC charges. At the end of the previous quarter, Check Point had more than $3 billion in cash, so this isn’t a big fine for it.

Check Point said: “This relates to a dispute between us and the SEC over a report in our 2021 financial statement. Then today we said (and say) that anyone using this software should believe they were a victim, and so we were, but our investigations revealed that There was no access to the code, information about customers, or other sensitive information, and we believed it was immaterial, and although we did not agree with the SEC, we agreed to enter into this settlement includes additional companies with other issues, He pays $995,000.”

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on October 27, 2024.

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