Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Guidewire Software Call Options (NYSE:GWRE)

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,297 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,563% compared to the average daily volume of 78 call options.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 0.5 %

Guidewire Software stock opened at $174.62 on Thursday. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $102.66 and a fifty-two week high of $209.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.65. The stock has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 485.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 45.60 and a beta of 1.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $123.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In related news, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.72, for a total value of $266,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 189,261 shares in the company, valued at $37,420,684.92. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,828 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $483,757.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,911 shares in the company, valued at $12,814,275.66. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,347 shares of company stock worth $4,057,594. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Guidewire Software by 24.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,426,907 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $626,918,000 after buying an additional 679,558 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 18,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $472,220,000 after acquiring an additional 256,702 shares during the period. Teca Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,893,000. Linonia Partnership LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 185,077 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the second quarter valued at $22,318,000.

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.