Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 4.3% – What’s Next?
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyOracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report)’s stock price dropped 4.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $190.81 and last traded at $193.5340. Approximately 22,335,737 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 19,088,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.29.
More Oracle News
Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Oracle’s reported RPO (remaining performance obligations) surge gives multi-year revenue visibility and supports the company’s AI/cloud revenue outlook, bolstering the long-term growth case. RPO expansion article
- Neutral Sentiment: EVP Douglas Kehring sold 35,000 shares (~$6.8M) at about $194.89; while large insider sales can raise questions, the filing shows he still holds shares—context matters (planned diversification vs. signal). SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple lawsuits and investor notices have emerged alleging losses tied to Oracle’s AI buildout and bond issuance; class-action and bondholder suits increase legal risk and could pressure sentiment and costs. Bondholder suit
- Negative Sentiment: Debt-market concerns: analysts and reports flag large planned debt raises to fund AI/hyperscale expansion, and bond-market stress has been reported — this raises refinancing and credit-risk questions for investors. Debt risk article
- Negative Sentiment: High-profile short activity and activist/hedge attention: reports note Michael Burry has taken a bearish position, which can amplify downside pressure and volatility. Burry short article
- Negative Sentiment: Operational/headquarters execution concerns: reports say Oracle is struggling to staff its new Nashville “world HQ,” which fuels investor concern around execution and the company’s ability to scale operations. HQ hiring troubles
- Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context: AWS is reaccelerating and pulling ahead in scale and AI infrastructure, a reminder investors should weigh ORCL’s execution vs. larger cloud peers. Cloud comparison
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $382.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Oracle
Oracle Price Performance
The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. The company has a market capitalization of $549.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $203.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.30.
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. Oracle had a return on equity of 70.60% and a net margin of 25.28%.The firm had revenue of $16.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.
Oracle Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.
Insider Transactions at Oracle
In other Oracle news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $11,065,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,030 shares in the company, valued at $42,610,859.20. This represents a 20.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas A. Kehring sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total transaction of $6,821,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,555,709.82. This trade represents a 50.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 161,588 shares of company stock valued at $39,976,746. Company insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Oracle by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,093,200 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,113,526,000 after purchasing an additional 360,000 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 626.1% in the third quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 11,537 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 9,948 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 9.2% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,937 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $7,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $239,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Oracle
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.