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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $108.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.73. Guidewire Software has a 1 year low of $68.45 and a 1 year high of $122.35. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of -174.64 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $409,563.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 149,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $409,563.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,420 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total value of $493,935.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Linonia Partnership LP bought a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter valued at $189,965,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 141.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,842,564 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $165,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,268 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter valued at $105,311,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter worth $97,829,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 2,902.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 475,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,824,000 after purchasing an additional 459,973 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James began coverage on 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 upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Guidewire Software from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.11.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

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.