Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $214.00 price objective on the enterprise software provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.88% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $161.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,593,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,912,798. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $450.44 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $175.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.34.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,670 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,201,000 after buying an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 97.7% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,034 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,912,000 after acquiring an additional 27,685 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 36.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 147,705 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $20,856,000 after purchasing an additional 39,107 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Oracle by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,296,012 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $182,998,000 after purchasing an additional 228,440 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Whale Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,841,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.