Check Point CEO Focusing On Cloud, Threat Prevention As The Outlook For 2017 Reads Positive

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. CHKP reported strong Q4 results and announced a positive outlook for FY 2017. “We view management’s commentary as indicative of a health industry backdrop for security in the year ahead,” Baird’s Jayson Noland said in a report. He maintains a Neutral rating on the company, while raising the price target from $87 to $103.

Results And Guidance

Check Point reported revenue and non-GAAP EPS at $487 million and $1.46, ahead of the consensus estimates of $478 million and $1.25 respectively. Full-year fiscal '16 revenue and non-GAAP came in at $1.74 billion and $4.72, respectively.

The company guided to FQ1 revenue and non-GAAP EPS of $420 million–$440 million and $1.15–$1.20 compared to the consensus estimates of $428 million and $1.13, respectively. Guidance for FY 2017 was at $1.85 billion–$1.90 billion and $5.05-$5.25, above the consensus estimates of $1.83 billion and $4.89, respectively.

Noland raised the revenue and EPS estimates for 2017 from $1.85 billion to $1.87 billion and from $4.90 to $5.25, respectively.

Focus For 2017

Noland mentioned Check Point had highlighted three aspects of the cybersecurity landscape, which continued to materialize over the years:

1. Connected devices were being increasingly used as “an attack vehicle for corporate networks.”
2. Expanded utilization of cloud computing represented “another environment in which enterprise resources are now at risk.”
3. Malware was becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Given these trends, CEO Gil Shwed “emphasized cloud, mobility, and threat prevention as focus areas for F17,” the analyst noted.

At last check, shares of Check Point Software were up 0.93 percent at $97.24.