Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 106,456 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 44% compared to the typical volume of 74,051 call options.

Oracle Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $175.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.15. Oracle has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $178.61. The firm has a market cap of $483.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.23, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,146,320 shares of company stock valued at $164,762,400. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.42.

Oracle Company Profile

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.