Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $502.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.