Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $207.79 and last traded at $207.59, with a volume of 96368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.31.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,594.43, a PEG ratio of 51.96 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.53.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 1.29%. The firm had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.72, for a total transaction of $266,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 189,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,420,684.92. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 4,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.66, for a total value of $779,387.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,328,600.42. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,601 shares of company stock valued at $9,116,179 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,426,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $626,918,000 after purchasing an additional 679,558 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 18,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,128 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $472,220,000 after purchasing an additional 256,702 shares during the last quarter. Teca Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,893,000. Linonia Partnership LP raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,329,000 after purchasing an additional 185,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,318,000.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.