Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 3.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Oracle shares rose about 3.5% to roughly $187.50 on higher‑than‑average volume, and the Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target near $260.71.
• The company is expanding its AI product stack—notably an Oracle AI Database Agent for Gemini Enterprise and new agentic AI tools (including Google Cloud integrations)—which analysts say could accelerate cloud/AI revenue and has drawn large investors.
• Offsetting positives, governance and execution risks persist after reports of large‑scale layoffs, ongoing insider sales (including EVP Stuart Levey), and scrutiny over the new CFO’s sizable equity award, which may pressure sentiment.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) traded up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.18 and last traded at $187.50. 32,043,419 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 28,285,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.17.

More Oracle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle expanded Oracle AI Database@Google Cloud with an Oracle AI Database Agent for Gemini Enterprise, making it easier for customers to query Oracle data with natural language — a direct revenue/capex accelerator for Oracle’s AI cloud stack. Oracle expands AI capabilities in Oracle AI Database@Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle rolled out new agentic AI tools and applications — analysts say these extend Oracle’s product moat across cloud and data services and support ongoing enterprise spending on AI. As Oracle Launches New Agentic AI Tools, Should You Buy, Sell, or Hold ORCL Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Large/value investors have been adding to Oracle positions, interpreted by some outlets as a vote of confidence that can underpin further upside after the recent sell‑off. A Legendary Value Fund Just Bet Big on Oracle — The Signal Is Hard to Ignore
• Neutral Sentiment: Pyth Network (an Oracle-related network) was chosen to provide pricing data for Kalshi’s new commodities hub — a win for Oracle’s data/feed ecosystem but only tangential to OCI/enterprise revenue. Pyth Network to determine outcomes in Kalshi’s commodities expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), an Oracle‑branded business in India, posted FY26 growth and a dividend — supportive for the broader Oracle franchise but has limited impact on ORCL’s US-listed cloud narrative. Oracle Financial Services Software Posts Double-Digit FY26 Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling continues to surface — EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares under a 10b5‑1 plan; recurring insider sales can worry some investors about timing/optics. SEC Form 4 - Stuart Levey sale
• Negative Sentiment: Unconfirmed reports about large‑scale layoffs (widely cited in the press) and questions about algorithmic selection of cuts have raised governance and execution concerns among some investors. Oracle Layoff Reports Put AI Governance And Investor Risks In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle’s new CFO appointment drew attention after reports of a large equity award (~$26M) amid recent workforce cuts — potential negative optics on capital allocation and employee morale. Oracle Appoints CFO With $26M Equity Award

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on Oracle from $342.00 to $285.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Oracle from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $260.71.

Oracle Trading Up 3.5%

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $152.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.26. The firm has a market cap of $539.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 25.30% and a return on equity of 62.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Oracle's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total value of $2,642,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,155.51. The trade was a 81.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.23, for a total transaction of $1,552,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,805,476.90. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $4,336,031,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2,062.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,227,252 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,595,072,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800,546 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Oracle by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,137,126 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,874,070,000 after acquiring an additional 6,826,299 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 174,802,084 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $34,070,674,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 882.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,991,010 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $972,798,000 after buying an additional 4,482,934 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle's product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.

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