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

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

Guidewire Software Price Performance

GWRE opened at $107.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -174.00 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.56 and a 200 day moving average of $105.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $240.93 million. Guidewire Software had a negative net margin of 5.48% and a negative return on equity of 3.60%. On average, research analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post -0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In related news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total transaction of $409,563.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total transaction of $409,563.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total transaction of $493,935.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,420,656.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,435 shares of company stock worth $1,053,821. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,067,513 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $879,682,000 after purchasing an additional 22,049 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 0.6% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 6,238,882 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $561,499,000 after purchasing an additional 36,895 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,874,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,513,000 after purchasing an additional 115,600 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 16.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,115,994 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,440,000 after purchasing an additional 294,631 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 141.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,842,564 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $165,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,268 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWRE has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.11.

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.