Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $218.18, but opened at $246.95. Guidewire Software shares last traded at $256.39, with a volume of 928,469 shares traded.

The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $293.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.40 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. Guidewire Software’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GWRE. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.69.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.02, for a total value of $296,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,749,091.86. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael C. Keller sold 1,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.03, for a total value of $341,935.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,270 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,318.10. The trade was a 13.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,671 shares of company stock worth $5,471,104 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 3.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,711,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,632,206,000 after buying an additional 256,070 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 16.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,157,195 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $966,252,000 after purchasing an additional 720,322 shares during the period. Linonia Partnership LP raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 41.8% during the first quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $636,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,709 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 205,382 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,672,767 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $313,410,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 703.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.70.

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.