Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to Buy at Melius Research

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Oracle Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $167.47 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.95. Oracle has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $173.99. The stock has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,868,820 shares of company stock valued at $267,819,424. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.