Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Stock Price Down 6.3% – Here’s Why

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s share price was down 6.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $132.08 and last traded at $133.5160. Approximately 648,250 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 1,651,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.42.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.58. The company has a market cap of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.08. The firm 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%.Guidewire Software’s revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $692,254.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 199,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,721,402.24. This trade represents a 2.84% 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. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 4,292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,568,595.10. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,193 shares of company stock valued at $3,792,858. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at $202,405,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Guidewire Software by 547.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,537,000 after acquiring an additional 997,992 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,743,000 after purchasing an additional 431,725 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 405,850 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 179.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 628,759 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $94,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,370 shares during the period.

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.