Technology
Check Point Software Kicks Off 2017 With a Bang
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Overall 2016 just OK for cyber-security giant Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP). In fact shares only grew almost 4% in this time. The firm continued to expand on its industry-leading security platform with the introduction of new and innovative security solutions for the cloud, mobile and advanced threat prevention. This all culminated in the company’s most recent earnings report, which is kicking off 2017 in style.
Check Point reported its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company posted $1.46 in earnings per share (EPS) and $486.7 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $1.25 in EPS and revenue of $478 million. The same period of last year reportedly EPS of had $1.20 and $458.07 million in revenue.
During the quarter, the company also posted $1.066 billion in deferred revenues, an increase of 18% from the same period last year.
Check Point repurchased 3 million shares in the fourth quarter, for a total of $248 million returned to shareholders.
The company also noted cash flows from operations of $183 million, versus $212 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
On the books, its cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and short-term investments totaled $1.37 billion at the end of the quarter, compared to $1.28 billion at the end of the previous year.
Gil Shwed, founder and CEO of Check Point, commented:
We had a great finish to 2016 with healthy business growth in all geographies and a nice increase in new customer wins. We realized triple digit growth across our focus areas of mobile and advanced threat prevention, while security gateways delivered double digit growth. It’s great to see the business investments made over the past few years coming to fruition and underscoring a strong quarter.
Shares of Check Point closed Wednesday down nearly 1% at $89.61, with a consensus analyst price target of $86.48 and a 52-week trading range of $72.44 to $92.23. Following the release, the stock was up 5.3% at $94.35 in early trading indications Thursday.
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