Check Point Software Technologies' (CHKP) Q3 billings were well above market expectations and the company is seeing signs of "revitalized growth,' but the pace and sustainability of transformation is still unclear, Morgan Stanley said in a note emailed Wednesday after the company's Q3 results.
Morgan Stanley noted that the company's billings outperformance was backed by "a few large deals."
The investment firm also highlighted the fact that Check Point's "product growth continues to see solid
momentum" as the company beat estimates for product revenue growth at 10% year on year, compared with Street forecasts for 7% growth due to "another quarter of solid appliance refresh activity."
Chief Executive Nadav Zafrir is "focused on reinvigorating the growth engine at Check Point by investing in higher growth areas" and "better channel penetration and new sales/product leaders," the note said.
However, as "operating margins have already come down 150bps YoY, investors likely remain focused on the potential timeline to sustainable topline re-acceleration," the investment firm said.
Morgan Stanley lifted the company's price target to $212 from $193, while keeping its equalweight rating.
Price: 196.14, Change: -7.42, Percent Change: -3.65
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