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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWRE. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:GWRE opened at $171.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 476.03, a PEG ratio of 46.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $185.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.15. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $105.31 and a 52 week high of $209.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 794 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,012,267.62. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.43, for a total value of $230,080.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 180,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,804,540.78. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,347 shares of company stock worth $4,057,594 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 worth $626,918,000 after buying an additional 679,558 shares during the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $330,329,000 after acquiring an additional 185,077 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,330,074 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,580,000 after purchasing an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 972,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $177,954,000 after purchasing an additional 31,512 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 764,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,839,000 after purchasing an additional 53,967 shares during the last quarter.

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.