Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 24.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $128.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $2,590,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.