StockNews.com Downgrades Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to Hold

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ORCL. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $176.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $492.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. 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.