Wall Street investors have responded positively to the appointment of Nadav Zafrir as the new CEO of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), with the share price currently over 5% higher, making the cybersecurity company Israel’s most valuable company with a market cap of $19.8 billion - a record high for the company. Earlier in trading the share price opened 7% higher, with the market cap exceeding $20 billion.
Check Point provides cybersecurity solutions and is managed by cofounder and CEO Gil Shwed, who is stepping aside and becoming chairman, when Zafrir assumes office in December.
For many years Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) was easily Israel’s most valuable company but after financial troubles caused by large debt, the company lost much of its value in 2017 - although it has recently rebounded and currently has a market cap of $19 billion.
Others exceeded Teva’s market cap in recent years and became Israel’s most valuable company including Check Point itself, website building platform company Wix.com Ltd. (Nasdaq: WIX), solar energy company SolarEdge Technologies (Nasdaq: SEDG) and even fintech company Pagaya Technologies (Nasdaq: PGY), which jumped briefly after its SPAC merger.
Since December 2022, Israel’s most valuable has been advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) company Mobileye Global Inc. (Nasdaq: MBLY). However, the share price has been falling sharply in recent days and the company currently has a market cap of $18 billion, although the gap in value between Check Point, Teva and Mobileye is not very big.