Cloud company Oracle whiffed on fiscal second-quarter revenue
The shares of Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) are plummeting today, down 11.6% to trade at $101.84, one of the worst stocks on the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC). The cloud company missed fiscal second-quarter revenue estimates and issued a weak third-quarter forecast, citing an uncertain economy and competition from peers. The explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has dulled the appeal and fiscal outlook of the cloud sector. In response, no fewer than eight analysts slashed their price targets on ORCL.
Oracle stock is on the short sale restricted (SSR) list today amid the volatility, and heading for its worst single-session drop since the company’s last earnings report on Sept. 13. Despite today’s drawdown, the stock is still up 26.1% in 2023, while support could be below at $100, which stepped up in late October.
Unsurprisingly, options traders are blasting ORCL today. So far, 121,000 calls and 71,000 puts have been exchanged, which is already 4.6 times the average daily options volume. Expiring this Friday, the December 105 call is the most popular, where new positions are being opened.