Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $210.24, but opened at $226.50. Oracle shares last traded at $222.81, with a volume of 6,661,796 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.26.

Oracle Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $625.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 442,366 shares of company stock worth $83,395,223 over the last three months. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.