Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Hits New 52-Week Low After Insider Selling

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $113.12 and last traded at $112.6880, with a volume of 930835 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.46.

Specifically, President John P. Mullen sold 4,292 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total value of $509,632.08. Following the transaction, the president owned 131,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,568,595.10. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James Winston King sold 999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $118,621.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,295.48. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In related news, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 246 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $29,210.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,287 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,958.38. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $246.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $255.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.00.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 4.1%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.01 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $372.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.92 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 11.25%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,077,791,000 after purchasing an additional 116,726 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,201 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $357,504,000 after purchasing an additional 145,924 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $290,501,000 after purchasing an additional 405,850 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,316,817 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,693,000 after purchasing an additional 45,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 547.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,537,000 after purchasing an additional 997,992 shares in the last quarter.

About Guidewire Software

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.