Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $340.00 at Evercore ISI

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $270.00 to $340.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.52% from the company’s previous close.

ORCL has been the subject of several other research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Oracle from $221.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.84.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $307.64 on Wednesday. Oracle has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $345.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $864.11 billion, a PE ratio of 71.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its position in Oracle by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 5,355 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.