Analysts Back Oracle Stock Before Quarterly Report

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is up 2.6% at $162.93 at last check, enjoying a bullish reiteration from three analysts ahead of its fiscal first-quarter report, due out after the close on Thursday, Sept. 10. Oppenheimer and Mizuho both reiterated their "outperform" ratings and respective price targets of $275 and $320, while Guggenheim maintained its "buy" recommendation and $400 target.

Zacks Research expects Oracle to report earnings of $1.74 per share on revenue of $19.14 billion. Options traders are pricing in an 16.8% post-earnings move, regardless of direction, comparable to ORCL's average reaction of 12.4% over the last eight quarters. The shares have finished higher after four of those last eight reports, including a 35.9% surge this time last year.

Today's move has the stock trading near levels not seen since June, with the shares on track for a fourth-straight winning session. Year-to-date, however, ORCL is down 16.6%.

ORCL's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a relatively high 99 out of 100, indicating Oracle's stock has tended to exceed option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.