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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,361,469.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.12, for a total transaction of $187,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,171 shares in the company, valued at $19,361,469.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,797 shares of company stock valued at $5,570,502. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter worth $97,829,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 23.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,747,349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $378,832,000 after acquiring an additional 516,942 shares during the period. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 23.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Teca Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,893,000. Finally, Linonia Partnership LP increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,329,000 after purchasing an additional 185,077 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $123.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.69.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

GWRE stock opened at $172.41 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.69. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $85.15 and a fifty-two week high of $173.72. The firm has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a PE ratio of -1,331.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 1.32%. The firm had revenue of $291.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

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.