Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA is once again Israel's most valuable company. Teva has leapfrogged Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) on Wall Street after the cybersecurity company's share price plunged on missing on third quarter billings revenue and disappointing fourth quarter guidance, which was below analysts' expectations.
Yesterday Check Point's share price fell 14.5%, wiping $3.3 billion off its market cap - half of the amount it has risen since the start of 2024. Check Point's share price is currently 0.88% lower at $176.37, giving a market cap of $19.4 billion.
Teva's share price is currently up 1.06% at $18.63, giving a market cap of $21.1 billion. Teva's share price has risen 78% since the start of the year as the pharmaceutical company returns to growth after five years of shrinking revenue.
A large part of Check Point's gains this year have come since July when it was announced that Team8 founder and former head of the IDF 8200 Intelligence Unit Nadav Zafrir will replace Gil Shwed as CEO in December. Check Point cofounder Shwed is stepping down after 30 years and will become executive chairman.
Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo said, "We have heard good thing about Nadav and we are happy that Gil is staying. Palo Alto Networks has grown faster than Check Point over the past decade, but we now see an acceleration in growth. Check Point is doing the right things and the market expects to see whether the growth is sustainable."
However, after publication of Check Point's results, Gallo cut his price target for Check Point from $240 per share to $220, a premium of 23.7% on its current price, although he maintained his "Buy" recommendation. He wrote, "We are still encouraged by the company's expected long-term path although investors are concerned, justifiably, about visibilities in the short term."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 30, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.