New York, Feb 27, 2026, 11:24 EST — Regular session
- Oracle slipped roughly 3.7% during the morning session.
- This week’s Oppenheimer upgrade runs straight into a fresh wave of selling across the tech sector.
- March earnings are in focus, with investors seeking signs that spending is translating to profits.
Oracle slumped 3.7% to $144.69 in early Friday trading, slipping from Thursday’s close of $150.31. Investors continued to balk at hefty AI-related outlays, weighing on tech stocks.
U.S. stocks are sliding toward month-end, with investors wondering just how soon their steep AI bets will actually deliver. Fresh inflation numbers running hotter than forecasts are adding another layer of caution.
Oracle’s dilemma isn’t new: it’s balancing the need to ramp up cloud infrastructure fast enough to keep pace with demand, while also reassuring debt holders and investors wary of dilution. Uncertainty around funding has hung over the shares throughout the month.
Shares of Oracle bounced between $145.15 and $152.50 on Friday, data from the company’s investor relations site show.
This week, Oppenheimer gave Oracle a lift, turning bullish on the stock. Analyst Brian Schwartz bumped his rating to Outperform and tagged on a $185 target, writing, “While our call may be early… we see a favorable risk/reward.” Investing.com
The upgrade came on the heels of Oracle defending its aggressive cloud expansion strategy through February. For 2026, the company’s aiming to raise $45 billion to $50 billion, with about half of that from equity-linked and common equity offerings — including up to $20 billion via an at-the-market program and mandatory convertible preferreds — and the rest through senior unsecured bonds. Back in January, Oracle faced a lawsuit from bondholders, who alleged it failed to fully disclose funding requirements tied to AI infrastructure.
Oracle doubled down on its AI push Thursday, extending its title sponsorship of Red Bull Racing in Formula One. The partnership will tap Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and roll out “an AI-powered strategy agent” for the 2026 season. “We’ve done some really cool stuff with AI and there’s a lot more to come,” Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk told Reuters. Reuters
Even so, recent trading has focused less on Oracle’s latest marketing victories and more on the company’s ability to turn booked demand into real cash flow, all while pouring money into data centers. That’s a hurdle its bigger cloud competitors usually handle with less strain.
Oracle’s next major event looms: the company will report quarterly results after markets close on March 9, according to Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar.
Plenty of things could trip things up. Management hinting at bigger outlays, softer margins, or a sluggish capacity ramp—any of that lands, the stock’s “show me” discount might get even steeper. And with tech sentiment on shaky ground, that risk only grows.
Traders, for the moment, have eyes on two factors: big tech’s end-of-month risk appetite, and whatever fresh clues Oracle offers about the timing and components of its 2026 financing package before the March earnings release.
