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Oracle (ORCL) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) closed at $96.47 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.92% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.09%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.03%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.51%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 9.92% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.17% in that time.

Oracle will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.58, up 2.6% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.74 billion, up 16.04% from the year-ago period.

ORCL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.04 per share and revenue of $49.86 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2.86% and +17.47%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Oracle. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.15% higher. Oracle is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Oracle has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.98 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 27.56.

Investors should also note that ORCL has a PEG ratio of 2.37 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.16 at yesterday's closing price.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 113, putting it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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