Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) fell 5.7% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $134.66 and last traded at $135.3460. 41,345,016 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 29,414,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.56.

Oracle News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho added Oracle to its Top Picks list with a $320 price target, citing accelerating demand for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and AI-related cloud services. Oracle and these 6 stocks are newest addition to Mizuho Top Picks list
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle signed a virtual power purchase agreement for most of the output from Scout Clean Energy’s 300-megawatt Ranchero Wind Farm in Texas. The agreement supports Oracle’s planned investment in more than 1.7 gigawatts of Texas renewable-energy projects and could help address the power demands of its data centers. Scout Clean Energy Announces PPA with Oracle for Texas Wind Energy Farm
• Neutral Sentiment: Oracle is reportedly exploring a financing structure in which private-credit investors purchase AI chips and lease them to Oracle. The arrangement could reduce near-term capital requirements, but reflects the substantial cost of expanding AI capacity. Oracle Courts Apollo and Goldman for AI Chip Financing
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Oracle, Broadcom and SpaceX are pursuing debt deals worth tens of billions of dollars to fund AI hardware heightened concerns about leverage, financing costs and the risk that expensive chips could become obsolete before the debt matures. Oracle, Broadcom and SpaceX Seek Blockbuster Debt Deals To Pay for AI Chips
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also remain concerned about Project Jupiter’s power and infrastructure delays, including the possibility of using trucks to deliver natural gas to Oracle’s large New Mexico AI campus. Those logistical issues could delay data-center capacity coming online and increase costs. Why Oracle Stock Is Sinking Today

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $241.00 to $215.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.72.

Oracle Stock Down 5.7%

The company has a market cap of $409.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.96 and a 200-day moving average of $159.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.18. Oracle had a return on equity of 48.85% and a net margin of 26.36%.The business had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter worth $29,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Markowski Investments purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud services and related hardware. Its offerings help businesses manage databases, applications, data, infrastructure and other core information-technology operations.

The company is best known for its Oracle Database, along with cloud-based infrastructure and platform services. Oracle also provides enterprise applications for functions such as finance, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.