Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Melius Research

Melius Research downgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ORCL. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Oracle from $270.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Oracle from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Oracle from $320.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $342.00 to $285.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.43.

Oracle Trading Up 9.9%

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $156.94 on Monday. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $187.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.64.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Mark Hura sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.89, for a total transaction of $2,953,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,077 shares in the company, valued at $46,087,420.53. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.52, for a total value of $1,925,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,728,655.60. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 62,223 shares of company stock valued at $12,136,764 over the last three months. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Oracle by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 290.9% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson upgraded ORCL to a Buy (Gil Luria), and several outlets point to that upgrade as the immediate catalyst for the rally. Oracle Heads Toward Key Resistance Levels After Analyst Upgrade. Should You Buy ORCL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Oracle’s large bond sale was heavily oversubscribed have eased short-term funding worries and supported confidence in its AI-infrastructure spending plan. Oracle: This Capitulation Has Gone Too Far
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI-driven tech strength lifted major indices and helped ORCL rebound as investors rotate back into AI infrastructure names. Stock Market Today, Feb. 9: Oracle Climbs on AI Optimism Despite Software Sector Weakness
• Positive Sentiment: Customer wins for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) — e.g., a multi‑hospital EHR migration and an Oracle Health AI pilot — reinforce the revenue/AI adoption narrative. Transform Shared Service Organization Improves EHR Performance and Drives AI Adoption with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst interviews and media segments (DA Davidson’s Gil Luria, Yahoo Finance) provide bullish context on Oracle’s OpenAI/OpenAI-related exposure but are commentary rather than new company disclosures. Why this analyst is bullish on OpenAI and Oracle
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market-watch and “buy-the-dip” pieces highlight ORCL as a contrarian pick; useful for sentiment but not immediate fundamentals. 3 Contrarian “Buy the Dip” Picks—and One Area to Avoid (ORCL)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class-action notices (stock purchase window and senior‑note offerings) introduce litigation risk and potential distractions for management. ORCL Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Oracle Corporation Securities Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Critics continue to flag Oracle’s elevated leverage and heavy AI capex as balance-sheet risks; these concerns have pressured the stock in recent sessions. How Low Can Oracle Stock Go?
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms have trimmed price targets or ratings recently, reflecting uncertainty about near-term returns and the pace of Oracle’s AI investments. Oracle stock: Bernstein looks at the financial impact of the capital raise

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle’s product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.