Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Guidewire Software Call Options (NYSE:GWRE)

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $1,158,431.56. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 166,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,504,565.30. This represents a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 300 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total transaction of $52,434.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,845,281.32. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,880 shares of company stock worth $7,850,222 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 347.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the first quarter valued at about $1,546,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 70.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,185 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $231.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Guidewire Software stock opened at $184.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.46 and a 200-day moving average of $189.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 511.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $107.00 and a 52 week high of $219.59.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.74 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 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.