Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by Guggenheim from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the enterprise software provider's stock. Guggenheim's price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.13% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ORCL. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded down $1.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $186.24. 6,093,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,246,937. The firm has a market cap of $516.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average is $178.90 and its 200 day moving average is $153.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $196.04.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,242,000. Capasso Planning Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 30,729 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

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.