In the latest close session, Oracle (ORCL) was down 1.28% at $163.83. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.57%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.04%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 12.81% lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 20.43% and outpaced the S&P 500's gain of 12.24%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Oracle in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.96, reflecting a 15.29% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $19.08 billion, indicating a 19.98% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $7.46 per share and a revenue of $67.22 billion, signifying shifts of +23.71% and +17.1%, respectively, from the last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Oracle. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.19% upward. At present, Oracle boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Oracle is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.26. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.28, which means Oracle is trading at a premium to the group.
We can additionally observe that ORCL currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.29. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.57 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 68, this industry ranks in the top 28% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Oracle Corporation (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).