Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $190.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $220.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 37.64% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.00.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $2.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $138.04. 898,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,933,577. Oracle has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.31. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.