StockNews.com Upgrades Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to Buy

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $178.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $500.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.68. Oracle has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.