Guggenheim Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Guggenheim in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $220.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 45.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $150.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $167.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $421.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle has a 12-month low of $111.18 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $133,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.