Stock Traders Buy 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 activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,297 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,563% compared to the typical daily volume of 78 call options.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 1.3 %

GWRE traded down $2.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $201.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 664,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,261. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $188.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.97. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2,523.18, a P/E/G ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.18. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $95.02 and a one year high of $207.10.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.84 million. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, October 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $123.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James Winston King sold 4,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.66, for a total transaction of $779,387.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,328,600.42. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.68, for a total transaction of $253,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 190,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,773,872.48. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,601 shares of company stock worth $9,116,179. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 21.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 345 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,451 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,078 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,845 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period.

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.