Traders Purchase High Volume of Guidewire Software Call Options (NYSE:GWRE)

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

Guidewire Software Stock Down 1.6 %

GWRE opened at $209.78 on Friday. Guidewire Software has a 1 year low of $107.00 and a 1 year high of $219.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 582.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 38.20 and a beta of 1.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.42, for a total value of $297,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 273,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,060,758.60. This represents a 0.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Winston King sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total value of $47,190.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,981,153.92. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,556 shares of company stock valued at $6,820,145. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,455,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,425,434,000 after buying an additional 90,618 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $747,968,000 after buying an additional 1,009,966 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,602,000 after buying an additional 205,382 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,407,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $237,323,000 after buying an additional 291,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,342,771 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $226,701,000 after buying an additional 12,697 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GWRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $231.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.50.

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.