Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL) shares surged more than 10% Thursday morning, leading the S&P 500 gainers after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. The strong performance was fueled by soaring demand for its cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) services, prompting a wave of bullish analyst reactions and price target upgrades.
The tech giant’s stock climbed to $194.64 at last check — its highest level of 2025 — and is now up over 42% year-over-year. Oracle’s latest rally broke through key resistance around the $180 level, a barrier that had previously capped gains back in February.
CEO Safra Catz described fiscal 2025 as “a very good year,” but expressed even more optimism for the year ahead, stating that revenue growth in fiscal 2026 is expected to be “dramatically higher.”
The upbeat earnings report triggered swift responses from Wall Street. At least 10 analysts raised their price targets for Oracle, with Bernstein lifting its target to $225 from $207. The average analyst target also climbed nearly $20 overnight, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.
Investor enthusiasm was also evident in options trading, where more than 76,000 calls and 40,000 puts exchanged hands within the first 30 minutes — a trading volume over 20 times higher than usual. The most active contracts included weekly calls at the $195 and $200 strike prices, indicating continued short-term bullish sentiment.
Oracle’s performance reflects broader investor excitement around enterprise AI adoption and cloud infrastructure — key areas the company has heavily invested in. As demand accelerates, the company appears well-positioned to benefit from the next wave of digital transformation.