Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Melius Research

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

ORCL has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $284.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Oracle from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.41.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $130.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $394.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.78. Oracle has a 52-week low of $114.50 and a 52-week high of $265.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.19.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.13 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 26.36% and a return on equity of 48.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. Research analysts predict that Oracle will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 2,631 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $399,122.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,956.90. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Sicilia sold 22,562 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.59, for a total transaction of $3,420,173.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 182,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,730,207.11. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,075 shares of company stock worth $5,342,123 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 38.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,680,278 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,151,395,000 after purchasing an additional 123,294 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,251,059 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,949,363,000 after buying an additional 384,984 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 9,878,184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,447,648,000 after buying an additional 144,087 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,586,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,262,827,000 after buying an additional 147,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,516,878 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,248,148,000 after buying an additional 81,700 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Oracle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s investor-day outlook remains the main bullish catalyst. Management is targeting at least $225 billion in fiscal 2030 revenue, approximately $21 in fiscal 2030 EPS, and $30 billion in free cash flow by fiscal 2029. The company also reported exceptionally strong AI bookings and cloud backlog growth, suggesting demand for its AI infrastructure remains robust. Oracle Stock Forecast – Analysts React to Strong FY30 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle pledged to limit additional capital-market funding to approximately $20 billion through fiscal 2030, addressing concerns that its data-center expansion could require unrestrained borrowing and share issuance. Analysts including Bank of America, TD Cowen, and Piper Sandler have maintained bullish ratings and substantial price targets. Oracle Analyst Day Eases Funding Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for $8.10 EPS, ahead of the $7.86 consensus, but the $90 billion revenue forecast is slightly below the $90.4 billion analyst estimate. This leaves investors focused on whether AI bookings convert into reported revenue and cash flow over the next two quarters. Oracle Just Told Investors What Many Already Knew
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle’s AI expansion has produced deeply negative free cash flow and required roughly $48 billion of debt and equity funding in fiscal 2026. Investors remain skeptical that the projected cash-flow turnaround will arrive quickly enough, particularly given Oracle’s debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Oracle Caps New Capital Raising
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology weakness and concerns about lower-than-expected big-tech capital spending have pressured AI infrastructure stocks. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s criticism of businesses dependent on leasing AI capacity to a small number of customers also raised questions about Oracle’s customer concentration and infrastructure economics. Satya Nadella Criticizes AI Capacity Rental Models

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud infrastructure and database technologies. Its products help organizations store, manage, analyze and secure data, while supporting business operations across industries and geographies.

The company’s offerings include Oracle Database, Java, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and a broad portfolio of cloud-based applications. These applications serve functions such as enterprise resource planning, financial management, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.