Guidewire Software Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the average volume of 78 call options.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $776,204.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,206 shares in the company, valued at $36,246,815.16. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,479 shares of company stock valued at $5,007,134. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 4.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 9.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. American Trust increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.9% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,632 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,739 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 7.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $125.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.76. The company has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.19 and a beta of 0.91. Guidewire Software has a 12 month low of $115.57 and a 12 month high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.85.

About Guidewire Software

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.