Oracle Extends Losses; Analysts More Tough Sledding

Analysts mostly see continued tough sledding for Oracle Corp. ORCL as its shares extended their losses Friday on a fourth-quarter earnings miss. Oracle posted adjusted earnings of 92 cents a share up 6 percent from a year earlier, on revenue growth of 3 percent, to $11.3 billion late Friday. Analysts expected 95 cents a share on revenue of $11.5 billion. Citi's Walter Pritchard downgraded the shares to Neutral and said results mean "the stock becomes a 'show me.'" Pritchard added in a note that among large-cap software stocks, he prefers SAP AG SAP. "Europe is strengthening relative to the U.S." and SAP's product line may drive business. Sterne Agee's Robert Breza maintained a Neutral rating and a $41 target. Breza said in a note that the recent quarter "may leave investors cautious about future results." Similarly, Richard Williams of Summit Research maintained a hold and said a slowdown in growth is likely to continue. "The first quarter is looking almost as challenging as the fourth," Williams said in a research note. An outlier on Wall street, Nomura's Rick Sherlund maintains a Buy on Oracle. "Investors should focus on what Oracle is doing now to better position itself and where they are going over the next few years as they begin to emerge from this transition," Sherlund said in a note maintaining a $46 target.