Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.00.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $255.36 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $204.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 709.34, a P/E/G ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.15. Guidewire Software has a 1 year low of $129.90 and a 1 year high of $263.20.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 2.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $1,158,431.56. Following the transaction, the president now owns 166,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,504,565.30. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.02, for a total value of $296,828.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,749,091.86. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,671 shares of company stock worth $5,471,104. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 403.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 70.0% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period.

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.