Evercore ISI thinks it’s time to buy Oracle . The firm upgraded the technology stock to outperform from in line and increased its price target to $135 from $131. Evercore ISI’s new forecast implies nearly 23% upside from Friday’s $109.96 close. Analyst Kirk Materne said Oracle’s 13% slide since mid-September presents investors with a strong buying opportunity, while the company will continue to grow its cloud segment. “We believe that the recent pullback after F1Q results creates a more compelling entry point for Oracle for those investors willing to take a 6-9 month view,” Materne said. Oracle reported on Sept. 11 fiscal first-quarter revenue that came up short of analyst expectations. Its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance was also light relative to estimates. The analyst added that the longer-term view for Oracle is favorable despite short-term headwinds tied to a deceleration in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, which has pressured shares. “In our view, the OCI story got a little ahead of itself this spring, but the long term potential provides upside optionality to both our estimates and the valuation,” Materne said. Despite its recent decline, Oracle shares are up roughly 35% for 2023. ORCL YTD mountain Oracle stock in 2023 — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
