CyberArk shares soar on Check Point takeover report

Udi Mokady CEO CyberArk
Udi Mokady CEO CyberArk

The Israeli company’s share price surged on the Nasdaq over a report that Check Point may acquire the $1.4 billion firm.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) purchased two Israeli companies in 2015 Hyperwise and Lacoon; and reports now suggest it could purchase another in 2016, with CyberArk Software Inc.(Nasdaq:CYBR) share price has surged accordingly on the Nasdaq, up nearly 20% yesterday to $45 to give a market cap of $1.4 billion.

Check Point said the company does not respond to rumors and CyberArk did not comment.

Check Point, founded and run by Gil Shwed, provides information security solutions; it trades on the Nasdaq at a market cap of $14.2 billion.

CyberArk, founded and run by Udi Mokady, was first listed on the Nasdaq a year and a half ago; its share price has risen 137% since then. However, since peaking in June 2015, the share price has slid 48.8%.

The company supplies IT solutions focusing on privileged account security. The main stakeholders in CyberArk are Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and Goldman Sachs. Mokady holds 3.1% of CyberArk shares. As of the end of 2014, the company employed 430 workers 180 in Israel and the rest mostly in the US and UK. CyberArk is headquartered in Petah Tikva.

In the first three quarters of 2015, CyberArk reported revenue of $109 million a 64% increase compared with the corresponding period of 2014. Net profit rose from $3.3 million to $15.9 million and its non-GAAP net profit totaled $28.4 million, up 137%. In January to September of 2015, CyberArk created $40.3 million from its operations and concluded that period with $250 million in cash.

Analysts expect any acquisition to have a 46% premium.

CyberArk raised $86 million on the Nasdaq in September 2014 when it listed at $16 per share. In 2015, it held two secondary offerings in which it raised $450 million, at $51 and $61 per share, respectively.

Its share price at closing the day before the report emerged stood at $37.80. According to Thomson/First Call figures, the average price target analysts have for CyberArk stood at $55.2 per share a 46% premium over market price.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 14, 2016

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016

Udi Mokady CEO CyberArk
Udi Mokady CEO CyberArk
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