Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Oracle Call Options (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with traders acquiring 199,704 call options, marking a 21% rise compared to the typical volume.
• Analyst price targets for Oracle have been notably raised, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a target of $360.00, while Barclays adjusted their target to $281.00, reflecting a strong consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Oracle's recent quarterly dividend of $0.50 will be paid on October 23rd, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 199,704 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 21% compared to the typical daily volume of 164,368 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group set a $300.00 price objective on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Oracle from $221.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.12.

Oracle Trading Up 3.4%

ORCL traded up $9.84 during trading on Monday, hitting $302.02. 23,190,731 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,388,103. The firm has a market cap of $858.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Oracle has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $345.72.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Snider Financial Group boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.3% during 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 in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,070,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 7.2% during the 2nd 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 in 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 worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.