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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 1,297 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the average daily volume of 78 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GWRE. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Guidewire Software from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.11.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total transaction of $409,563.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 149,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.35, for a total transaction of $150,322.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 148,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,485,033.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 3,665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.75, for a total transaction of $409,563.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 149,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,695,114.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,435 shares of company stock worth $1,053,821 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 253.3% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,045,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $724,092,000 after acquiring an additional 38,954 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 32.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 53,084 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after acquiring an additional 13,136 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 1,318.8% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 42,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 39,669 shares during the period. Finally, Yarbrough Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC now owns 7,519 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWRE opened at $108.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of -174.64 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.74 and its 200 day moving average is $105.73. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $68.45 and a 52 week high of $122.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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