Short Interest in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Increases By 53.2%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. DA Davidson raised Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $168,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 233,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,642,351.43. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares in the company, valued at $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 44,760 shares of company stock valued at $8,614,644 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,077,791,000 after purchasing an additional 116,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,201 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $357,504,000 after buying an additional 145,924 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 18.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,146,000 after acquiring an additional 202,064 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter worth about $202,405,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 982,747 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,894,000 after acquiring an additional 251,280 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $126.97. 1,057,603 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,727,590. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.93, a PEG ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.06. Guidewire Software has a 12-month low of $121.88 and a 12-month high of $272.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.82. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $332.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.