Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) rose 7.4% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $176.97 and last traded at $177.1410. 461,186 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,549,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $222.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $202.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.23.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a PE ratio of 103.61 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.96 and its 200-day moving average is $147.64.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.06. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $411.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Cooper sold 9,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.61, for a total value of $1,417,686.01. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 85,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,181,746.20. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO David Peterson sold 1,905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total value of $275,215.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,767,301.51. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 200,735 shares of company stock worth $30,179,843. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 547.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,537,000 after acquiring an additional 997,992 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 524,818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,492,000 after acquiring an additional 15,260 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,087,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 168.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,719 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 11,749 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,106,768,000.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry. Its platform is designed to help insurers manage core operations, modernize legacy systems, and support digital interactions with policyholders, agents, brokers, and other stakeholders.

The company’s principal offerings include Guidewire InsuranceSuite, a cloud-based platform with applications such as PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and payments, and ClaimCenter for claims management.