Melius Research Upgrades Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to “Strong-Buy”

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) was upgraded by analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ORCL. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.41.

Oracle Stock Down 6.5%

NYSE:ORCL opened at $130.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $394.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.19. Oracle has a 52-week low of $114.50 and a 52-week high of $265.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.13 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 48.85% and a net margin of 26.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Oracle has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.100-8.100 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 2,631 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $399,122.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,357 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,956.90. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Sicilia sold 22,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.59, for a total transaction of $3,420,173.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 182,929 shares in the company, valued at $27,730,207.11. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,075 shares of company stock valued at $5,342,123 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 38.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 143.3% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. SFI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. SFI Advisors LLC now owns 1,925 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 31,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 16,975 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,879 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s investor-day outlook remains the main bullish catalyst. Management is targeting at least $225 billion in fiscal 2030 revenue, approximately $21 in fiscal 2030 EPS, and $30 billion in free cash flow by fiscal 2029. The company also reported exceptionally strong AI bookings and cloud backlog growth, suggesting demand for its AI infrastructure remains robust. Oracle Stock Forecast – Analysts React to Strong FY30 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle pledged to limit additional capital-market funding to approximately $20 billion through fiscal 2030, addressing concerns that its data-center expansion could require unrestrained borrowing and share issuance. Analysts including Bank of America, TD Cowen, and Piper Sandler have maintained bullish ratings and substantial price targets. Oracle Analyst Day Eases Funding Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for $8.10 EPS, ahead of the $7.86 consensus, but the $90 billion revenue forecast is slightly below the $90.4 billion analyst estimate. This leaves investors focused on whether AI bookings convert into reported revenue and cash flow over the next two quarters. Oracle Just Told Investors What Many Already Knew
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle’s AI expansion has produced deeply negative free cash flow and required roughly $48 billion of debt and equity funding in fiscal 2026. Investors remain skeptical that the projected cash-flow turnaround will arrive quickly enough, particularly given Oracle’s debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Oracle Caps New Capital Raising
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology weakness and concerns about lower-than-expected big-tech capital spending have pressured AI infrastructure stocks. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s criticism of businesses dependent on leasing AI capacity to a small number of customers also raised questions about Oracle’s customer concentration and infrastructure economics. Satya Nadella Criticizes AI Capacity Rental Models

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is a global technology company that develops enterprise software, cloud infrastructure and database technologies. Its products help organizations store, manage, analyze and secure data, while supporting business operations across industries and geographies.

The company’s offerings include Oracle Database, Java, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and a broad portfolio of cloud-based applications. These applications serve functions such as enterprise resource planning, financial management, human resources, supply-chain management, customer experience and industry-specific operations.