Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $179.00 to $200.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Guidewire Software traded as high as $186.44 and last traded at $186.05, with a volume of 23219 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $183.37.

GWRE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total transaction of $201,190.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 137,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,539,463.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $4,024,928.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,523,889.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $201,190.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 137,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,539,463.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,601 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,892. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,134,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $949,430,000 after purchasing an additional 67,439 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,874,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $335,513,000 after purchasing an additional 115,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,747,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $378,832,000 after buying an additional 516,942 shares in the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,329,000 after buying an additional 185,077 shares during the period. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $148,323,000 after buying an additional 240,622 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,321.46 and a beta of 1.19.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. The company had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.