Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Bumped Up to Strong-Buy by Melius Research

Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on ORCL. President Capital reduced their price target on Oracle from $360.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Oracle from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, CLSA assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.41.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $130.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $394.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.78. Oracle has a 52-week low of $114.50 and a 52-week high of $265.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $141.81 and its 200 day moving average is $157.19.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.13 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 48.85% and a net margin of 26.36%. Oracle’s revenue was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Stephen Rusckowski acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $139.35 per share, with a total value of $3,483,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,538,096.50. This represents a 6,410.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 2,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $399,122.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,956.90. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,075 shares of company stock worth $5,342,123. Company insiders own 38.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,680,278 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,151,395,000 after purchasing an additional 123,294 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,251,059 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,949,363,000 after purchasing an additional 384,984 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 9,878,184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,447,648,000 after buying an additional 144,087 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,586,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,262,827,000 after buying an additional 147,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,516,878 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,248,148,000 after buying an additional 81,700 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s investor-day outlook remains the main bullish catalyst. Management is targeting at least $225 billion in fiscal 2030 revenue, approximately $21 in fiscal 2030 EPS, and $30 billion in free cash flow by fiscal 2029. The company also reported exceptionally strong AI bookings and cloud backlog growth, suggesting demand for its AI infrastructure remains robust. Oracle Stock Forecast – Analysts React to Strong FY30 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle pledged to limit additional capital-market funding to approximately $20 billion through fiscal 2030, addressing concerns that its data-center expansion could require unrestrained borrowing and share issuance. Analysts including Bank of America, TD Cowen, and Piper Sandler have maintained bullish ratings and substantial price targets. Oracle Analyst Day Eases Funding Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for $8.10 EPS, ahead of the $7.86 consensus, but the $90 billion revenue forecast is slightly below the $90.4 billion analyst estimate. This leaves investors focused on whether AI bookings convert into reported revenue and cash flow over the next two quarters. Oracle Just Told Investors What Many Already Knew
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle’s AI expansion has produced deeply negative free cash flow and required roughly $48 billion of debt and equity funding in fiscal 2026. Investors remain skeptical that the projected cash-flow turnaround will arrive quickly enough, particularly given Oracle’s debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Oracle Caps New Capital Raising
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology weakness and concerns about lower-than-expected big-tech capital spending have pressured AI infrastructure stocks. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s criticism of businesses dependent on leasing AI capacity to a small number of customers also raised questions about Oracle’s customer concentration and infrastructure economics. Satya Nadella Criticizes AI Capacity Rental Models

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud infrastructure and database technologies. Its products help organizations store, manage, analyze and secure data, while supporting business operations across industries and geographies.

The company’s offerings include Oracle Database, Java, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and a broad portfolio of cloud-based applications. These applications serve functions such as enterprise resource planning, financial management, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.