Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Down 11.4% – Should You Sell?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s share price was down 11.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $129.03 and last traded at $126.7370. Approximately 144,686 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,634,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWRE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 9.4%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $144.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.89, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.05.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $776,204.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,279 shares of company stock worth $4,867,874. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 13,290 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth about $250,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 801,489 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,871,000 after acquiring an additional 179,945 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 177.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth about $3,694,000.

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.