Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Given New $246.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $246.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.78% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.71.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $239.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $672.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $239.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.