Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 3.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Oracle shares rose 3.3% to $146.70 in mid-day trading, though volume was about 33% below the average. The stock remains below its 200-day moving average of $160.71.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $263.97. Oracle’s AI infrastructure expansion—including its AWS partnership and increased data-center capacity—is viewed as a key growth catalyst.
• Oracle’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue up 20.6% year over year and EPS of $2.11 versus the $1.96 consensus. However, investors should weigh its high debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21 and concerns that heavily leveraged AI infrastructure spending could increase risk.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $148.35 and last traded at $146.70. Approximately 19,473,090 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 29,188,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.07.

Key Headlines Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a generally favorable view of Oracle, with the company receiving an average “Moderate Buy” rating. Another report highlighted a substantial gap between Oracle’s recent share price and the roughly $246 consensus price target, suggesting significant potential upside if its cloud and AI investments translate into faster growth. Oracle Corporation Receives Average Rating of Moderate Buy from Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s AI infrastructure strategy remains a key bullish catalyst. Its expanded collaboration with Amazon Web Services makes Oracle Exadata Database Service on Exascale Infrastructure available through Oracle AI Database@AWS across 22 AWS regions, potentially broadening customer access and supporting multicloud database growth. Oracle Corporation vs. Amazon: Which AI Infrastructure Giant Is Better Positioned for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle is also being viewed as a beneficiary of rising data-center power demand. Bloom Energy has identified Oracle and Brookfield Asset Management as customers or partners for portable fuel-cell solutions, reinforcing expectations that Oracle is actively expanding capacity to serve AI workloads. Bloom Energy Calls Its Fuel Cells Lego Blocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary remains mixed on valuation and timing. Some analysts describe Oracle as inexpensive relative to its long-term AI opportunity but argue that the most meaningful financial inflection may not occur until 2027. Oracle Cheap, But Too Early
• Negative Sentiment: Risk-focused investors are warning that the AI data-center boom may be relying on heavy borrowing, circular financing and off-balance-sheet structures. Michael Burry’s comparison with the pre-2008 period could weigh on highly leveraged AI infrastructure companies, including Oracle, if concerns about debt-funded expansion intensify. Michael Burry Says the AI Buildout Is Repeating 2008

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Scotiabank reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Oracle from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.97.

Oracle Stock Up 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $145.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.71. The company has a market cap of $422.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.15. Oracle had a net margin of 25.37% and a return on equity of 58.62%. The business had revenue of $19.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Oracle has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.720-1.760 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.050-8.050 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Oracle's payout ratio is 34.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.16, for a total transaction of $63,664,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,664,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth about $625,454,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in Oracle by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 79,008 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $11,579,000 after acquiring an additional 6,296 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in Oracle by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 76,590 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $14,928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Planning Center Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 142.2% in the 4th quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 6,376 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,686 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $11,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,584 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oracle

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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