Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Down 4.8% Following Insider Selling

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s stock price traded down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $191.55 and last traded at $191.3610. 582,507 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,558,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.09.

Specifically, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.44, for a total value of $245,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,143,597.44. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,400. This represents a 20.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GWRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Guidewire Software from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.93.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 5.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.25. The company has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a PE ratio of 102.98 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000.

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.