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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 1,297 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the average volume of 78 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GWRE. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $231.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software 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 ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.08.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:GWRE opened at $196.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 545.96, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.31. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $107.00 and a 52 week high of $219.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.62 and a 200 day moving average of $186.78.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. The business had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.68, for a total value of $300,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,979,036.40. This trade represents a 0.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.43, for a total value of $230,080.50. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 180,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,804,540.78. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,174 shares of company stock worth $6,746,147. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,455,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,425,434,000 after acquiring an additional 90,618 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $747,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,966 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 205,382 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,407,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $237,323,000 after buying an additional 291,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,342,771 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $226,701,000 after buying an additional 12,697 shares during the period.

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.