Guidewire Software Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.35, for a total transaction of $150,322.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 148,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,485,033.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.35, for a total value of $150,322.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 148,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,485,033.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,420 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,375 shares in the company, valued at $27,420,656.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,435 shares of company stock valued at $1,053,821 over the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Guidewire Software by 253.3% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 8,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,045,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $724,092,000 after purchasing an additional 38,954 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 32.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 53,084 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 13,136 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 1,318.8% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 42,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 39,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarbrough Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC now owns 7,519 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of GWRE opened at $108.28 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.73. Guidewire Software has a twelve month low of $68.45 and a twelve month high of $122.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -174.64 and a beta of 1.15.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The technology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.22. Guidewire Software had a negative net margin of 5.48% and a negative return on equity of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $240.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.93 million. Equities analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post -0.42 EPS 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.