Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JMP Securities Analyst Says

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price increased by research analysts at JMP Securities from $205.00 to $240.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market outperform” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 11.35% from the stock’s previous close.

ORCL has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.32.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $215.54 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $152.88 and its 200-day moving average is $160.62. Oracle has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $216.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 427,366 shares of company stock worth $80,183,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.