NEW YORK, January 7, 2026, 15:31 EST — Regular session
- Oracle shares were down 0.1% in mid-afternoon trade as investors weighed new analyst targets.
- UBS and RBC trimmed targets this week, while Jefferies reiterated a $400 view.
- Focus turns to Friday’s U.S. jobs report and Oracle’s Jan. 9 dividend record date.
Oracle shares were little changed on Wednesday as investors digested fresh analyst calls that painted a wide 12-month path for the stock. The shares were down 0.1% at $193.52 in mid-afternoon trade, after touching $195.49 earlier in the session.
Why it matters now: Oracle has become a proxy for investor nerves around debt-funded AI data-center buildouts and customer concentration. UBS analyst Karl Keirstead cut his price target to $280 from $325 on Monday while keeping a “Buy” rating, saying the roughly 41% slide from mid-September highs showed confidence has cracked across Oracle and the wider OpenAI-linked trade. 1
Jefferies took the other side of that tension. In a sector outlook, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said 2026 may still be a year of “gradual AI monetization” and reiterated Oracle as a top pick with a $400 target price, arguing infrastructure-oriented software names can rebound even after a sharp selloff. 2
More cautious notes also landed. RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria lowered his target to $195 from $250 and kept a “Sector Perform” stance, a label typically close to a hold call. GuruFocus, which tracks published brokerage targets, put the average one-year target at $295.20, with estimates ranging from $175.14 to $400. 3
The backdrop is not helping. U.S. labor reports on Wednesday pointed to softer demand for workers, and the rate outlook still sits at the center of how investors price long-duration growth stocks such as software. Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said the ADP report’s “visual signal” was that jobs were added in December, “but at a relatively slow pace.” 4
On the charts, the stock is still working back from a deep break. MarketBeat data showed Oracle trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages — trend lines that some traders use to mark short- and longer-term direction — at about $216 and $243, respectively. 5
But risks run both ways. If the OpenAI-related buildout slips, or if financing stays tight, the debate shifts from “when” to “whether” the spending cycle pays off. Oracle has previously denied a report that it was pushing back several OpenAI-related data centers, saying milestones were on track and aligned with OpenAI. 6
Next up is Friday’s U.S. employment report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, which could move Treasury yields and set the tone for big-cap tech into the close of the week. Oracle also hits its dividend record date on Jan. 9, with payment scheduled for Jan. 23, while investors keep an eye on the company’s next earnings update, expected in mid-March. 7
