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

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,297 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of GWRE stock traded down $4.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $213.48. 871,740 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,661,625. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $184.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.94. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 593.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 56.59 and a beta of 1.25. Guidewire Software has a 1 year low of $107.00 and a 1 year high of $219.49.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,932 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $1,014,727.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 281,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,192,733.80. This represents a 2.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.79, for a total value of $626,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 174,746 shares in the company, valued at $36,485,217.34. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,106 shares of company stock worth $6,489,127 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 24.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $243,580,000 after acquiring an additional 6,223 shares in the last quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 972,743 shares of the technology company's stock worth $177,954,000 after acquiring an additional 31,512 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 7.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,586 shares of the technology company's stock worth $88,098,000 after purchasing an additional 4,386 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWRE. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $231.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

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.