Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $270.00 to $360.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.02% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Roth Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.84.

Oracle Trading Down 6.3%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $307.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.52. Oracle has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $864.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.21, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.46.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.