Oracle could jump more than 20% as it jumpstarts growth with Cloud, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Brent Bracelin upgraded shares to overweight from neutral, and raised his price target, saying years of low growth are coming to an end for the computer software company as it grows its cloud business. “Truth be told, our long-term bias has been centered around growth, which has historically put us at odds with ORCL. For the past decade, it has delivered a paltry 1% 10YR CAGR in revenue and operating profits (F2012-F2022),” Bracelin wrote in a Sunday note. “That said, F2024 is shaping up to be a watershed year, where growth in operating profits and EPS could accelerate to 10%+,” Bracelin added. Oracle outperformed the S & P 500 last year, declining about 5% compared to the major index’s near-20% tumble. Even so, the analyst’s $104 price target, increased from $85, implies shares could surge more than 21% from Friday’s closing price. The stock is up about 1% in Monday premarket trading. For investors, the implied upside in Oracle shares would come mainly from growth in Oracle Cloud, which is expected to soon surpass revenues from database software for the company. According to the note, database software generates revenue of more than $19 billion. “Despite all the banter on cloud, the 1% CAGR in revenue and operating profits between F2012-F2022 made it easy to ignore ORCL. That may no longer be the case given Oracle Cloud could expand ~26% annually to reach $21.7B by F2025,” read the note. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
