On Wednesday, Piper Sandler increased the price target for Oracle Corporation (NYSE:NYSE:ORCL) to $150 from the previous target of $140, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the stock. The adjustment follows Oracle's announcement of $12.5 billion in new artificial intelligence (AI) contract signings, a significant development for the tech giant.
Oracle has recently secured new AI contracts that account for approximately 17% of the company's total Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) and over 70% of the new backlog build during the fourth quarter alone. Notable collaborations include those with Cohere, xAI, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), which have chosen to train their next-generation models using Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
The company is seen as being in the nascent phase of monetizing AI data center Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) through OCI, which currently represents 13% of Oracle's sales. Analysts project that this could grow to a $20 billion run-rate by the end of Fiscal Year 2026, up from $8 billion today.
Despite the positive momentum, the firm has slightly lowered its earnings per share (EPS) expectations for Oracle due to a projected higher tax rate of 20%, compared to the previous 19%, and the anticipated impact on gross margin from the shift towards IaaS. Nevertheless, the price target increase to $150 is justified by a higher target price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23 times, up from 21 times, reflecting the accelerating momentum in AI IaaS.
In other recent news, Oracle Corporation has been experiencing strong growth in its cloud services, as evidenced by its robust Q4 performance in fiscal year 2024. Barclays (LON:BARC) has raised its price target for Oracle from $147 to $160, noting the company's substantial artificial intelligence (AI) contracts and promising trajectory for fiscal year 2025.
Similarly, BofA Securities has increased its price target from $144 to $155, acknowledging the company's solid performance in the cloud sector despite some growth metrics not meeting expectations.
Oracle's cloud revenue, including Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), rose by 23% to $4.7 billion in Q4 of fiscal year 2024. The company's Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) also saw a notable 44% increase to $98 billion. However, Oracle's Software as a Service (SaaS) growth was modest compared to other application peers, suggesting potential market share loss in this area.
Oracle's recent partnership with Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and plans to construct large data centers for AI development further underscore the company's successful pivot towards cloud-based services. The company expects total revenue to grow 6-8% in constant currency and 5-7% in USD in Q1 of fiscal year 2025, with cloud revenue growth forecasted at 21-23% in constant currency and 20-22% in USD.
InvestingPro Insights
In light of Piper Sandler's recent price target increase for Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), examining real-time data and InvestingPro Tips can provide additional context for investors. Oracle's consistent dividend growth is notable, with the company raising its dividend for 10 consecutive years and maintaining dividend payments for 16 consecutive years. This track record may appeal to income-focused investors. Additionally, Oracle's position as a prominent player in the software industry, coupled with its low price volatility, suggests a stable investment option in a sector known for rapid changes.
From a valuation standpoint, Oracle's P/E ratio stands at 31.89, which is high relative to near-term earnings growth. This aligns with Piper Sandler's justification for a higher price target based on an increased P/E ratio, reflecting the company's growth potential in AI IaaS. Moreover, Oracle's revenue growth over the last twelve months was 9.49%, supporting the narrative of a company with solid financial performance.
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