Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Trading Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) shares were up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $130.16 and last traded at $129.6720. Approximately 411,667 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,549,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $144.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.87. The company has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The company had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.38, for a total transaction of $163,656.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,858,826.28. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $44,733.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,053,657.38. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,479 shares of company stock valued at $5,007,134 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M.D. Sass LLC lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 71.5% during the first quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 55,208 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after buying an additional 23,022 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 42.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 598,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,496,000 after buying an additional 177,672 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the first quarter worth approximately $299,000. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 30.0% in the first quarter. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC now owns 149,500 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,359,000 after purchasing an additional 34,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.9% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 28,506 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software products and cloud services for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company’s offerings are designed to help insurers manage the core functions of their business—policy administration, billing and claims—while supporting digital engagement, analytics and operational modernization.

Guidewire’s core product portfolio is commonly known as the InsuranceSuite, which includes PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and receivables, and ClaimCenter for claims management.