JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $135.00 to $185.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 14.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.32.

Oracle Trading Up 7.8%

NYSE:ORCL opened at $215.54 on Thursday. Oracle has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $216.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted 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. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 5,820 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.