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Technology Stocks : Oracle Corporation (ORCL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hardly B. Solipsist who wrote (11931)	9/16/1999 2:00:00 PM
From: Allen champ	Respond to of 19079

From WSJ: Some investors bailed out of Oracle after the software developer reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that fell short of some of the most optimistic projections, stirring up a storm of activity on Internet message boards. Shares of Oracle skidded 2 3/4 to 42 11/16 on Nasdaq Wednesday after the company posted net income of 16 cents a share, compared with 13 cents in the year ago quarter and even with the consensus forecast of analysts. The earnings fell shy of the "whisper number" of 19 cents a share. Analysts' views on the stock are mixed. U.S. Bancorp downgraded its rating on Oracle's shares to "buy" from "strong buy," but other Wall Street firms say they believe the news didn't dent their optimism about the company. On Internet message boards, many people seem willing to hold on to Oracle. "Everything I've seen/heard since this afternoon is, 'Buy, but be prepared for a bumpy ride up,'" wrote one investor on a Silicon Investor (www.techstocks.com) message board Tuesday evening. "We are heading into stronger seasons for the next 3 Qrs.," wrote another. Robert Austrain, an analyst with Banc of America Securities, who rates Oracle as a "market perform," says the fiscal first quarter, which ends in August, is typically a tough period for Oracle because of summer slowdowns. "It's a unique period of malaise," he says. "It's not a harbinger of difficulty ... everything they have in their basket points to a good year." John Puricelli, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons, says some investors may have been disappointed with Oracle's top-line performance, which has been volatile in recent quarters. The company reported that revenue for the quarter rose 13% to $1.98 billion from $1.75 billion. "Revenues are hugely erratic. They need to be more consistent," Mr. Puricelli says. "It's the nature of Oracle's business. They have a lot of moving parts." Mr. Puricelli has an "accumulate" rating on the stock. Overall, analyst's opinions are mixed. The consensus among the 32 firms that cover the stock is a "buy" rating, but individual ratings are split nearly evenly between "strong buy," "buy" and "hold."