Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $154.96 and last traded at $155.4290, with a volume of 2207571 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GWRE shares. DA Davidson upgraded Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.50.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 1.5%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $197.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.51. The firm has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 149.13, a P/E/G ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $187,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,543 shares in the company, valued at $36,805,949.18. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $39,067.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 72,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,158,835.11. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 51,758 shares of company stock worth $10,427,033 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software in the 3rd quarter worth $51,967,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 12.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 150,957 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,699,000 after purchasing an additional 17,151 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 43.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,303,000 after purchasing an additional 9,670 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 176.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 7,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth about $954,000.

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.