Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’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 traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ORCL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $520.44 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.43 and a 200-day moving average of $162.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 84.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $147,206,000 after acquiring an additional 395,613 shares during the last quarter. 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.