Guidewire Software Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GWRE)

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

Insider Activity

In other Guidewire Software news, insider James Winston King sold 794 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.43, for a total transaction of $138,497.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,012,267.62. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $1,014,727.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 281,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,192,733.80. The trade was a 2.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,347 shares of company stock valued at $4,057,594 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,426,907 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $626,918,000 after purchasing an additional 679,558 shares during the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 8.4% in the second quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,329,000 after buying an additional 185,077 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,330,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $243,580,000 after buying an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC increased its position in Guidewire Software by 3.3% during the third quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 972,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $177,954,000 after acquiring an additional 31,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 7.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 764,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,839,000 after acquiring an additional 53,967 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Guidewire Software stock opened at $171.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Guidewire Software has a twelve month low of $105.31 and a twelve month high of $209.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $185.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.15. The company has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 476.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 46.15 and a beta of 1.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

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.