Guidewire Software ‘cloud transition is hitting its stride’ – Stifel

Stifel upgraded shares of Guidewire Software (NYSE:) to Buy from Hold in a note Tuesday, with analysts raising the target price to $85 from $75 per share.

They told investors in a note that the company’s cloud transition is “hitting its stride.”

GWRE shares have climbed more than 6% so far in Tuesday’s session, trading close to the $74 per share mark.

“We recently conducted a survey of P&C Insurers to gain insights on their vendor relationships, views of Guidewire specifically, plans around cloud adoption and migration, and spending intentions,” explained the analysts. “The results (and recent company performance) suggest that Guidewire has turned the corner on its cloud transition, and the industry’s gradual acceptance of the Cloud, combined with a better product, will position Guidewire for long-term growth in the P&C Insurance space.”

“We believe the recent traction in cloud sales and go-lives suggests that margins are only set to improve from here, and there remains significant opportunity from cloud migrations within the base, as well as net new deployments and expansions driven by the improvements in the cloud product,” they added.