Oracle Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Oracle saw unusually heavy options activity on Friday, with investors buying 528,841 call options, about 52% above normal daily volume. That suggests rising bullish sentiment and speculation around the stock.
• Shares jumped 10.9% to $225.85 amid broader buying in large-cap tech and a bullish trading signal, with strong volume above average. The move comes as traders and analysts continue to point to Oracle’s AI and cloud demand as key growth drivers.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with recent price-target boosts from firms like Citigroup and Wedbush and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.” Still, concerns about valuation, debt, and AI data-center spending remain in focus.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 528,841 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 348,705 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle triggered a bullish “Power Inflow” order-flow alert at $215.49, which traders view as a sign that institutional and retail buyers are stepping in. Oracle Shares Rise 4% After Key Trading Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed investors bought 528,841 Oracle call options, about 52% above normal volume, suggesting increased bullish speculation.
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle shares are being lifted by broader buying in large-cap tech and a market backdrop that is moving higher, which is helping sentiment across software stocks. Oracle Stock Is Testing A Level That Could Define The Next Move
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to frame Oracle as a beneficiary of AI and cloud demand, with some analysts highlighting its backlog and long-term upside. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Oracle, Intuit and Progress Software
• Neutral Sentiment: A Reuters report noted Senator Ed Markey asked Oracle and the TikTok U.S. joint venture to answer questions about data security and content safeguards. The issue adds regulatory scrutiny, but it is not an immediate fundamental change for Oracle. Democratic senator wants TikTok US JV, Oracle to answer questions on platform safeguards
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles continue to debate Oracle’s valuation, debt load, and AI data-center spending, which may keep investors focused on execution risk even as the stock trends higher. Concerns Over Debt Weigh on Oracle (ORCL) Amid AI Data Center Expansion

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $313.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $261.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total value of $2,642,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,155.51. This represents a 81.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 40.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 174,802,084 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $34,070,674,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,584 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,527,759 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $14,916,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216,915 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,734,944 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,328,754,000 after acquiring an additional 665,374 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Oracle by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,137,126 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,874,070,000 after acquiring an additional 6,826,299 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Oracle by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,125,099 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,286,953,000 after acquiring an additional 495,146 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 10.9%

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $22.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $225.85. 39,281,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,816,389. The firm has a market cap of $649.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.55. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $134.57 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.08. Oracle had a net margin of 25.30% and a return on equity of 62.70%. The company had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Oracle Company Profile

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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