Guidewire Software Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,297 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,563% compared to the typical volume of 78 call options.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $180.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of -1,389.46 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $156.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.01. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $85.15 and a 1-year high of $183.23.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.84 million. Guidewire Software had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 1.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $4,024,928.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,662 shares in the company, valued at $49,523,889.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $4,024,928.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,523,889.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.12, for a total value of $187,812.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,171 shares in the company, valued at $19,361,469.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,601 shares of company stock worth $8,984,892. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,134,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $949,430,000 after acquiring an additional 67,439 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,874,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $335,513,000 after buying an additional 115,600 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,747,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $378,832,000 after purchasing an additional 516,942 shares in the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.4% in the second quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $330,329,000 after purchasing an additional 185,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $148,323,000 after acquiring an additional 240,622 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Guidewire Software from $123.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.62.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.