Whale Rock Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Whale Rock Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 972,743 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 31,512 shares during the quarter. Guidewire Software makes up about 2.5% of Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $177,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 648.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 72.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,984 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 326.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,799 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in Guidewire Software by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on GWRE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $123.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 23,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $4,024,928.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 287,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,523,889.92. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 6,718 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $1,156,570.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 160,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,643.84. This represents a 4.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,601 shares of company stock valued at $9,116,179. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

NYSE:GWRE opened at $206.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a PE ratio of -2,581.80, a PEG ratio of 52.81 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.19. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.02 and a 52-week high of $209.15.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $283.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software 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.