Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on ORCL. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $115.39 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.05. Oracle has a 12 month low of $93.29 and a 12 month high of $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Quantum Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $229,000. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,038 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $171,000. Hedge funds and other 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.