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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 1,297 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the average volume of 78 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $141.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guidewire Software news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,361,469.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider James Winston King sold 4,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.66, for a total transaction of $779,387.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,237 shares in the company, valued at $8,328,600.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,361,469.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,601 shares of company stock worth $8,984,892. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,829,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter worth $14,583,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at $315,000.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $174.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.67 and a 200-day moving average of $130.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,319.23 and a beta of 1.18. Guidewire Software has a 52-week low of $85.15 and a 52-week high of $174.68.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. The company had revenue of $291.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.84 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 0.49 earnings per share 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.