Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price rose 2% on Tuesday after DA Davidson upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. DA Davidson now has a $180.00 price target on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $165.39 and last traded at $159.78. Approximately 39,779,341 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 28,332,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.59.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho set a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $382.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $270.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.52, for a total transaction of $1,925,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,030 shares in the company, valued at $27,728,655.60. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.61, for a total transaction of $437,064.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,032,429.56. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,223 shares of company stock worth $12,136,764 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Oracle News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: D.A. Davidson’s upgrade to Buy (with a $180 target) and follow‑on analyst coverage helped spark the recent rally and renewed buying interest; some ETFs with heavy ORCL exposure are positioned to capture the move. Oracle Stock Soars As Analyst Says It’s Time To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle announced new role‑based AI agents and supply‑chain/manufacturing enhancements embedded in Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications at Oracle AI World — product traction that supports cloud/AI revenue growth and upsell to enterprise customers. Oracle AI Agents Help Supply Chain Leaders Boost Efficiency and Strengthen Resiliency
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed optimism around OpenAI and a possible “revamp” of its plans is lifting AI‑linked names (including Oracle as an AI infrastructure supplier), which is helping sentiment and liquidity into ORCL shares. AI Giant OpenAI Is Getting a Lift Lately. So Are Stocks Linked to It.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest rose ~19.5% in January (to ~34.8M shares), but only ~2% of float is short and the days‑to‑cover is low (~1.2 days) — notable for positioning but not an acute squeeze risk today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector commentary from strategists suggests recent software weakness created a buying opportunity for higher‑quality names — a market‑level tailwind if sentiment broadens. AI disruption fears create buying chance in US software stocks, strategists say
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑fraud class actions and investor notices have been filed or solicited (Kessler Topaz, Bernstein Liebhard, Robbins Geller, Rosen, etc.) covering June–Dec 2025 — ongoing litigation risk that can increase legal costs, management distraction, and uncertainty. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check Files Securities Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Public criticism of Oracle’s capital deployment and leverage (notably from media/TV commentators) and analyst notes flagging capital‑raise impact keep balance‑sheet concerns in focus; monitor debt metrics and FCF guidance closely. Jim Cramer on Oracle: “I Don’t Like What They’re Doing to Their Balance Sheet”
• Negative Sentiment: Short sellers and sector rotation have pressured software names recently; articles note traders profited from the selloff — a reminder downside can re‑assert if AI‑funding or capital‑markets sentiment shifts. Short Sellers Are Making Bank on Oracle Stock

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 130.0% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 76.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 290.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

About Oracle

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.