Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $197.81 and last traded at $197.48, with a volume of 12826 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $195.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research upped their target price on Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.62.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,440.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 50.59 and a beta of 1.18.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. The business had revenue of $291.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 4,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.66, for a total value of $779,387.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,328,600.42. The trade was a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $201,190.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 137,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,539,463.63. This trade represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,601 shares of company stock valued at $9,050,448 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 537.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

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.