Westpark Capital Initiates Coverage on Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Stock analysts at Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock. Westpark Capital’s price target suggests a potential upside of 39.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $140.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.16. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $391.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 383.4% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $1,800,000. 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.