Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as Buy by Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed Oracle’s “Buy” rating. Across analysts, Oracle has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $251.52.
• Oracle recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.92 in EPS versus the $1.74 estimate and $19.34 billion in revenue, up 29.6% year over year.
• Shares traded at $132.64, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while investors weigh Oracle’s strong cloud and AI growth prospects against heavy data-center spending, rising leverage and project delays.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. KeyCorp set a $285.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, September 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Oracle from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.52.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $132.64. 33,832,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,463,391. Oracle has a 12 month low of $114.50 and a 12 month high of $322.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $142.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.14. The firm has a market cap of $401.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.74.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.13 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 26.36% and a return on equity of 48.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Michael Sicilia sold 22,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.59, for a total value of $3,420,173.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 182,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,730,207.11. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 2,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $399,122.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,762,956.90. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 36,075 shares of company stock worth $5,342,123 over the last three months. 40.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Sherman Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 14,203 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Gould Asset Management LLC CA raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 3,172 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Oracle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s cloud infrastructure revenue more than doubled, while its reported $664 billion backlog supports the long-term growth case for AI computing and cloud services. Analysts and investors see significant upside if the company can convert that backlog into revenue without excessive cash burn. Oracle Reports a $664 Billion Backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, posting $1.92 in earnings per share on $19.35 billion of revenue, with revenue up 29.6% year over year. Bullish commentary also highlights a potentially attractive valuation after the stock’s decline. Is Oracle Stock a Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle is integrating with Swift’s blockchain ledger to help banks connect tokenized deposits across institutions, creating a potential opportunity in digital payments and financial infrastructure. Oracle Integration with Swift’s Ledger
• Neutral Sentiment: Some comparisons favor Dell, whose AI backlog and capital-light model may offer better near-term economics than Oracle’s more expensive data-center expansion. This reinforces that Oracle’s upside depends on successful execution. ORCL vs. DELL
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI data-center spending is consuming cash and increasing leverage. Michael Burry and other commentators have compared Oracle’s capital intensity with past technology bubbles, while Oracle-linked bonds have reportedly weakened and traded at yields above 8%. Michael Burry on Oracle’s Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle invoked force majeure on a Project Jupiter data-center site because of permitting delays, raising questions about project timing, financing and future capital commitments. Oracle Invokes Force Majeure on Project Jupiter
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure comes from higher oil prices and Treasury yields, a broader selloff in software stocks after Meta’s enterprise-AI push, and renewed PeopleSoft breach reports that could hurt confidence in Oracle’s security. Why Is Oracle Stock Falling?

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation NYSE: ORCL is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud services and related hardware. Its offerings help businesses manage databases, applications, data, infrastructure and other core information-technology operations.

The company is best known for its Oracle Database, along with cloud-based infrastructure and platform services. Oracle also provides enterprise applications for functions such as finance, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.

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