Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,297 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the typical volume of 78 call options.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In related news, insider James Winston King sold 1,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $199,069.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,148.33. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $234,948.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 258,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,397,077.26. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,371 shares of company stock valued at $6,222,685 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company's stock worth $747,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,966 shares during the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company's stock worth $636,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,709 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,104 shares of the technology company's stock worth $267,382,000 after purchasing an additional 589,424 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth about $85,453,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $159,503,000 after buying an additional 418,642 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWRE. DA Davidson downgraded Guidewire Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $226.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $228.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.42.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of GWRE stock traded up $3.58 on Friday, hitting $214.90. 881,209 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Guidewire Software has a twelve month low of $107.65 and a twelve month high of $219.59. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $199.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 596.94, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. The firm had revenue of $289.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.74 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

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.