Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $368.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 52.27% from the stock’s current price.

ORCL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.52.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $241.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.81 billion, a PE ratio of 55.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Oracle has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $260.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $240.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 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.