Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,297 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the average volume of 78 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $1,014,727.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 281,730 shares in the company, valued at $48,192,733.80. The trade was a 2.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total value of $47,190.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,981,153.92. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,606 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,309. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,612 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,131,000 after buying an additional 7,948 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 22.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth $55,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 291,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,251,000 after purchasing an additional 115,757 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:GWRE opened at $183.44 on Thursday. Guidewire Software has a 1 year low of $107.00 and a 1 year high of $209.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.82. The stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 509.55, a PEG ratio of 46.43 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

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.