Guidewire Software Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GWRE)

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

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In related news, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.72, for a total value of $266,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 189,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,420,684.92. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,662 shares in the company, valued at $49,523,889.92. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,601 shares of company stock valued at $9,116,179. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 648.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,984 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 79.8% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 219.5% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 4,161 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.08.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

NYSE:GWRE opened at $201.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2,523.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.59 and a 200 day moving average of $156.66. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $95.02 and a 1-year high of $207.10.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $291.50 million during 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 company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

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.