Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Short Interest Up 105.2% in January

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,940,000 shares, an increase of 105.2% from the January 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $231.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.50.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.72, for a total value of $266,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,509 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $258,129.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,291.68. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,506 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,679 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 1,268.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 49,621 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,365,000 after acquiring an additional 45,994 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,456,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,332,000. Westerly Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,334,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 54,988 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,270,000 after acquiring an additional 16,029 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock opened at $212.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.90. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $107.00 and a 52 week high of $219.59. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 589.67, a PEG ratio of 56.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

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.