Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer cut its price target on Guidewire Software from $250 to $180 while keeping an outperform rating, implying about 38% upside from the current share price.
• Despite the lowered target, Guidewire’s latest earnings beat expectations: it reported $1.17 EPS versus the $0.77 consensus and $359.1 million in revenue, up 24% year over year.
• Shares were trading around $130.22, well below the new target, while several insiders recently sold stock and analysts overall still view the name as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $244.46.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $250.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Oppenheimer's price target suggests a potential upside of 38.23% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.46.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:GWRE opened at $130.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.19 and a beta of 0.91. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $115.57 and a one year high of $272.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $144.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.01.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $1,077,543.36. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 135,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,187,791.02. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $776,204.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,246,815.16. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,479 shares of company stock worth $5,007,134 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 558.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 469,374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,200,000 after purchasing an additional 398,043 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth $6,087,000. M.D. Sass LLC grew its stake in Guidewire Software by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 55,208 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,257,000 after buying an additional 23,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Guidewire Software by 42.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 598,396 shares of the technology company's stock worth $89,496,000 after buying an additional 177,672 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Company 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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