Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $220.00 price target on the enterprise software provider's stock. Guggenheim's price target indicates a potential upside of 10.18% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.30.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded up $23.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $199.67. 54,558,768 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,567,888. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $202.43. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.36. The company has a market capitalization of $558.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.