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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the average daily volume of 78 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Guidewire Software from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $409,563.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at $16,695,114.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $493,935.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,420,656.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $409,563.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at $16,695,114.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,435 shares of company stock valued at $1,053,821 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,112,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 78.5% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 498 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 20,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,900 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $108.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -174.64 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.74 and a 200-day moving average of $105.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.45. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $68.45 and a fifty-two week high of $122.35.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.22. The company had revenue of $240.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.93 million. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 5.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post -0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.