Can Oracle Earnings Really Keep the Tech Rally Going?
December 15, 2014 by Chris Lange
During the current quarter, Oracle made a huge change when the company announced that CEO Larry Ellison had been named the company’s executive chairman and chief technical officer, and Safra Catz and Mark Hurd have both been promoted to CEO. All manufacturing, finance and legal functions will continue to report to Oracle CEO Catz. All sales, service and vertical industry global business units will continue to report to Oracle CEO Hurd. All software and hardware engineering functions will continue to report to Oracle Chairman and CTO Ellison.
Ellison has been a member of Oracle’s board since 1977. He owns 25% of the company’s shares. While he may not own 51% of the company, control of a quarter of Oracle’s shares qualifies as a level of leverage that is beyond any reasonable challenge.
ALSO READ: 10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2015
In the press release about the changes, Ellison said:
Safra and Mark will now report to the Oracle Board rather than to me. All the other reporting relationships will remain unchanged. The three of us have been working well together for the last several years, and we plan to continue working together for the foreseeable future. Keeping this management team in place has always been a top priority of mine.
A few key analyst firms weighed in on Oracle’s position recently:
- Morgan Stanley raised shares of Oracle to an Overweight rating from Equal Weight and moved its price target up to $50 from $45, on December 15.
- Piper Jaffray initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a price target of $44 on December 12.
- J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a price target of $38 on December 2.
Shares of Oracle were up over 3% at $41.35 in the second half of Monday’s trading day. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $43.53 and a 52-week trading range of $33.35 to $43.19.
ALSO READ: The 7 Best Investments of 2014
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.