Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,680,583 shares, a growth of 53.2% from the January 15th total of 1,749,649 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,664,558 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,664,558 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWRE. DA Davidson raised Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.64.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock traded up $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,057,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,727,590. The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.93, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $173.13 and its 200 day moving average is $208.82. Guidewire Software has a 12 month low of $121.88 and a 12 month high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.62 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share 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 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total transaction of $39,067.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 72,753 shares in the company, valued at $13,158,835.11. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,571,890. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,958 shares of company stock valued at $9,103,787. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Guidewire Software during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000.

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.