Stephens Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Stephens in a research report issued on Friday, September 11th, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.94% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $241.00 to $215.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $284.00 price target (up from $229.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up from $319.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.72.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $132.64. 33,832,396 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,463,391. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.14. The firm has a market cap of $401.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Oracle has a 52 week low of $114.50 and a 52 week high of $322.54.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.18. Oracle had a return on equity of 48.85% and a net margin of 26.36%.The company had revenue of $19.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Oracle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Sicilia sold 22,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.59, for a total transaction of $3,420,173.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 182,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,730,207.11. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 2,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $399,122.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,956.90. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,075 shares of company stock worth $5,342,123. Company insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 290.9% in the 4th quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Oracle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s cloud infrastructure revenue more than doubled, while its reported $664 billion backlog supports the long-term growth case for AI computing and cloud services. Analysts and investors see significant upside if the company can convert that backlog into revenue without excessive cash burn. Oracle Reports a $664 Billion Backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, posting $1.92 in earnings per share on $19.35 billion of revenue, with revenue up 29.6% year over year. Bullish commentary also highlights a potentially attractive valuation after the stock’s decline. Is Oracle Stock a Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle is integrating with Swift’s blockchain ledger to help banks connect tokenized deposits across institutions, creating a potential opportunity in digital payments and financial infrastructure. Oracle Integration with Swift’s Ledger
• Neutral Sentiment: Some comparisons favor Dell, whose AI backlog and capital-light model may offer better near-term economics than Oracle’s more expensive data-center expansion. This reinforces that Oracle’s upside depends on successful execution. ORCL vs. DELL
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI data-center spending is consuming cash and increasing leverage. Michael Burry and other commentators have compared Oracle’s capital intensity with past technology bubbles, while Oracle-linked bonds have reportedly weakened and traded at yields above 8%. Michael Burry on Oracle’s Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle invoked force majeure on a Project Jupiter data-center site because of permitting delays, raising questions about project timing, financing and future capital commitments. Oracle Invokes Force Majeure on Project Jupiter
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure comes from higher oil prices and Treasury yields, a broader selloff in software stocks after Meta’s enterprise-AI push, and renewed PeopleSoft breach reports that could hurt confidence in Oracle’s security. Why Is Oracle Stock Falling?

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud services and related hardware. Its offerings help businesses manage databases, applications, data, infrastructure and other core information-technology operations.

The company is best known for its Oracle Database, along with cloud-based infrastructure and platform services. Oracle also provides enterprise applications for functions such as finance, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.