Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Shares Sold by Darsana Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Darsana Capital Partners reduced its Guidewire Software position by 4.9%, selling 196,000 shares and retaining 3.804 million shares worth approximately $468.1 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 12 Buy and four Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $216.23, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Guidewire exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.99 in EPS and $411.1 million in revenue, up 15.3% year over year; however, the stock opened at $142.42, down 4.9%.

Darsana Capital Partners LP lessened its position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,804,000 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 196,000 shares during the period. Guidewire Software accounts for 2.1% of Darsana Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Darsana Capital Partners LP owned about 4.57% of Guidewire Software worth $468,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 86.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter valued at about $360,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Guidewire Software by 24.0% during the second quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 8,525 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWRE shares. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $137.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $222.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, September 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Guidewire Software has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.23.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of NYSE:GWRE opened at $142.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 1.79. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.30 and a 52-week high of $259.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $162.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.03. The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.06. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.44%.The firm had revenue of $411.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, CAO David Peterson sold 2,500 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,400. This trade represents a 20.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 14,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $2,664,000.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 116,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,592,275. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,093 shares of company stock worth $7,215,782. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Guidewire Software Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software products and cloud services for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company's offerings are designed to help insurers manage the core functions of their business—policy administration, billing and claims—while supporting digital engagement, analytics and operational modernization.

Guidewire's core product portfolio is commonly known as the InsuranceSuite, which includes PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and receivables, and ClaimCenter for claims management.

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