Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 2.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) rose 2.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $153.61 and last traded at $152.51. Approximately 17,474,923 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 26,383,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.01.

Oracle News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI backlog and enterprise cloud momentum: reports say Oracle’s AI backlog surged, cloud revenue up ~34% YoY and roughly $4B of new AI deals that boost revenue visibility and the fiscal 2027 growth outlook. This helps underpin the bull case for ORCL. Oracle’s AI Backlog Strengthens
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Oppenheimer upgraded Oracle from Perform to Outperform and set a $185 target, signalling conviction that Oracle’s AI and cloud investments can drive upside. Analysts Split on Oracle Corporation (ORCL)
• Positive Sentiment: Positive analyst/industry takes and awards: Forbes ran a bullish take on ORCL’s path to new highs, and Oracle Financial Services was named a top vendor in Chartis RiskTech100 (AI leadership cited) — both reinforce the growth narrative. Oracle Stock’s Path To New Highs Oracle Financial Services Named a Top Vendor
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings date set: Oracle will report Q3 FY2026 results after the close on March 10 — a near‑term catalyst that could amplify moves based on AI backlog and margin commentary. Oracle Sets the Date for its Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Data center financing activity: Applied Digital is pursuing a $2.15B bond to fund a 200MW North Dakota facility leased to Oracle — demonstrates demand for Oracle’s AI infrastructure but involves third‑party financing risk. Applied Digital Seeks $2.15 Billion Junk Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Government / power dynamics: reporting on White House data‑center energy discussions highlights that large AI campuses face political and utility hurdles — a watch item for capital/operations planning. Trump has an AI data center problem ahead of the midterms
• Negative Sentiment: Big broker price‑target trims: Citigroup cut its ORCL target from $370 to $310 (still a Buy) and RBC lowered its target from $195 to $160 (sector perform). Lower PTs put near‑term valuation pressure even though some firms remain constructive. Benzinga Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Expanding securities‑fraud litigation: multiple firms have filed or are soliciting lead plaintiffs alleging misstatements about Oracle’s AI/data‑center plans and capex — these suits increase legal and disclosure risk and likely weigh on sentiment until resolved. Kessler Topaz Files Securities Fraud Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Market skepticism on OpenAI exposure and debt: commentary highlights investor concern over Oracle’s heavy data‑center capex, growing debt and perceived overexposure to contested AI partnerships — factors that have pressured the stock in recent weeks. Here’s Why Oracle Stock Got Hammered Last Month

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $382.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Oracle from $270.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $290.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $320.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.23.

Oracle Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $438.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $172.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. The firm had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.23, for a total value of $1,552,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,805,476.90. The trade was a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.61, for a total value of $437,064.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,032,429.56. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,223 shares of company stock worth $13,689,064. 40.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 130.0% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 290.9% in the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle’s product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.