UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Oracle on Good Market Position

In a report published Thursday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Joel P. Fishbein Jr. initiated coverage on

with an Outperform rating and $42.00 price target. In the report, BMO Capital Markets noted, “Oracle, as a leading provider of database, middleware, and applications solutions, in our view, is positioned for continued growth and market share gains through leveraging its installed base (cross-sell/up-sell), favorable product refresh cycles, and surrounding the competition in customer environments. We see multiple company-specific drivers: increasing specialized sales force (+3,000), traction of engineered systems and pull-through of related software, and an apps business that is primed for long-term growth. Oracle also appears positioned for continued margin expansion through prudent spending and cost economies of scale in both its core and Sun business.” Oracle closed on Wednesday at $35.07.