Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $172.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $481.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Oracle by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,401 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,233,000 after acquiring an additional 11,971 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 21,698 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 9,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,135 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

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.