Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $167.81, but opened at $173.57. Oracle shares last traded at $166.60, with a volume of 3,107,307 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $477.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.12.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.