Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.57, but opened at $191.51. Oracle shares last traded at $182.66, with a volume of 17,544,483 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 7.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $517.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Oracle by 21.9% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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