Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded down $12.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.74. 26,474,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,383,048. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $492.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.67.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company Profile

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.