Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $215.76, but opened at $226.14. Guidewire Software shares last traded at $212.9260, with a volume of 666,408 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWRE. Zacks Research cut shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Guidewire Software from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.25.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.71, a P/E/G ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $228.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.48.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $332.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 7.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 1,811 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.87, for a total transaction of $439,837.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,440,010.68. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 30,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.87, for a total value of $7,363,089.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 264,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,350,349.46. This trade represents a 10.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,342 shares of company stock valued at $27,113,960. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Linonia Partnership LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 41.8% during the first quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $636,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,709 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth $1,100,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 47.9% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,931 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,568 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter valued at about $3,295,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth about $954,000.

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.