Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $72.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price target points to a potential upside of 7.67% from the company’s previous close.
According to Zacks, “Oracle is benefiting from the ongoing momentum across its cloud business, driven by the strong uptake of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services and Autonomous Database offerings. Solid adoption of cloud-based applications, comprising NetSuite Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Fusion ERP and Fusion Human Capital Management (HCM), bodes well. Solid demand for the Oracle Dedicated Region [email protected] is anticipated to drive the top line. Partnerships with Accenture and Microsoft is helping Oracle win new clientele. The company’s share buybacks and dividend policy are noteworthy. Shares have outperformed the industry in the year-to-date. However, higher spending on product enhancements, especially toward the cloud platform, amid increasing competition in the cloud domain is likely to limit margin expansion.”
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A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ORCL. Cowen decreased their target price on Oracle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 9th. Piper Sandler lowered Oracle from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, March 11th. Barclays set a $82.00 target price on Oracle in a research report on Friday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Oracle from $115.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.91.
ORCL traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.87. 246,658 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,268,128. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.63. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $66.72 and a fifty-two week high of $106.34. The stock has a market cap of $178.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.87.
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $10.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.51 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 18.08% and a negative return on equity of 383.80%. Oracle’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.
In other Oracle news, Director Renee Jo James sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.11, for a total value of $504,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,886 shares in the company, valued at $3,523,031.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 39.10% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Bellwether Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 115.6% in the third quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 291 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 469.0% in the first quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 404 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.33% of the company’s stock.
About Oracle (Get Rating)
Oracle Corporation provides 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 Fusion cloud advertising and customer experience, and NetSuite applications suite.
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