Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Oracle Corporation's stock traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $238.22, with a lower trading volume of approximately 2.77 million shares.
• Recent analyst upgrades have increased Oracle's target price significantly, with Piper Sandler raising it to $270 and Stifel Nicolaus to $250, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share, which exceeded analyst expectations, while revenue increased by 11.3% year-over-year, totaling $15.90 billion.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $238.22 and last traded at $237.70. 2,767,785 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 11,914,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.04.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $663.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $234.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Company 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. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 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.

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