Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Oracle from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, setting a price target of $368.00, indicating a potential upside of 52.27% from its previous close.
• Other analysts have also shown confidence in Oracle, with Mizuho increasing their price objective to $300.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" along with an average target price of $268.52.
• Recently, key insiders have sold significant shares, including Director Naomi O. Seligman, who sold 3,303 shares, and Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley, who sold 400,000 shares, indicating ongoing changes in insider investment positions.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $368.00 price target on the enterprise software provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $295.00. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.00% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ORCL. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $296.84.

Oracle Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $15.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $292.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,618,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,335,661. Oracle has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $345.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $243.59 and a 200 day moving average of $189.52. The company has a market capitalization of $820.37 billion, a PE ratio of 67.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.62 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Snider Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.3% in the second quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 3,204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.9% in the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.9% in the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.2% in the second quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 643 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 798 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 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.