Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $140.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Guidewire Software from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $141.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $161.69.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

GWRE opened at $168.04 on Friday. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $85.15 and a 1-year high of $171.74. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,292.52 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.55.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. The company had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Guidewire Software’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total transaction of $201,190.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 137,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,539,463.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $201,190.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 137,821 shares in the company, valued at $20,539,463.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 3,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.54, for a total value of $405,907.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,540,464.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,782,775. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 33,678 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355 shares in the last quarter. Teca Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Teca Partners LP now owns 195,599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,328,000 after acquiring an additional 46,453 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,874,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $335,513,000 after purchasing an additional 115,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software in the first quarter valued at about $417,000.

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.