Piper Sandler Increases Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $330.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler upgraded Oracle's price target from $270 to $330, indicating a potential upside of 36.55% from the previous close and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Other analysts have also raised their price targets, with Jefferies setting a target of $360 and Scotiabank at $300, reflecting strong optimism around the company's performance.
• Oracle reported a quarterly EPS of $1.70, exceeding expectations and showing an 11.3% revenue growth compared to the previous year.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $330.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the enterprise software provider's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $196.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. CIBC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Westpark Capital boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $296.84.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $15.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $292.07. The stock had a trading volume of 51,618,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,941,788. The stock's 50 day moving average is $244.69 and its 200 day moving average is $190.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $820.38 billion, a PE ratio of 67.61, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.46. Oracle has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $345.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.30%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $4,275,378,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth approximately $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $731,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Company Profile

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.