Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Upgraded by JMP Securities

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by research analysts at JMP Securities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $175.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.68.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $157.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.32. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $160.52. The company has a market capitalization of $433.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

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.