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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,297 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $231.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.08.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $206.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.34 and a 200-day moving average of $171.07. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 573.06, a P/E/G ratio of 47.19 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $107.00 and a one year high of $212.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.91, for a total value of $251,874.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 278,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,182,296.30. This represents a 0.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 7,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $1,225,644.90. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 182,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,149,341.76. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,606 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,309. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 54.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,612 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,131,000 after buying an additional 7,948 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 22.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth about $55,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 79.8% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 65.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 291,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,251,000 after buying an additional 115,757 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.