Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 2.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.2% during trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $200.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $178.71 and last traded at $177.79. 3,368,986 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 9,488,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.02.

ORCL has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.38.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 6,739 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $496.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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