Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Stock Price

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on GWRE. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $231.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.00.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Guidewire Software stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $255.93. 1,585,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,000. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $203.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.13. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 710.92, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. Guidewire Software has a 12-month low of $126.54 and a 12-month high of $263.20.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.41. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. The business had revenue of $293.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $286.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total transaction of $234,948.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 258,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,397,077.26. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 6,116 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now directly owns 166,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,504,565.30. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,671 shares of company stock valued at $5,471,104 over the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,711,604 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,632,206,000 after acquiring an additional 256,070 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 16.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,157,195 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $966,252,000 after buying an additional 720,322 shares during the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 41.8% in the first quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $636,333,000 after buying an additional 1,000,709 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $451,602,000 after buying an additional 205,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 1.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,672,767 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $313,410,000 after buying an additional 24,991 shares during the last quarter.

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.