Baird said Oracle is well-positioned to take advantage of the boom in artificial intelligence, which could lead to big returns for investors. The investment firm initiated coverage of the tech giant with an outperform rating and a $365 price target, suggesting the stock could rise 27% from Wednesday’s closing price. Baird analyst Rob Oliver pointed to Oracle’s strong position as an artificial intelligence growth story. “We see ORCL as extremely well-positioned to benefit from the convergence of AI, data, and use cases created by accelerated spending on AI infrastructure and the transition from training to inference,” he said. ORCL YTD Mountain ORCL Year to date More importantly, apart from AI, Oracle also has a strong and extensive ecosystem of applications, data, and networking. Oracle’s wide range of software products and applications provides investors with exposure across the broad computing ecosystem. “We believe the combination of resources the company offers, including extensive infrastructure, databases, networking and applications, can create a virtuous cycle that supports a premium valuation and propels the stock beyond its current infrastructure deficit trade,” Oliver added. The analyst also noted that Oracle’s revenue could accelerate by more than 20% as revenue increasingly shifts to cloud computing. “The core drivers of spending on SaaS applications and infrastructure should support several years of above-average growth,” he said. “Despite the acceleration of the investment cycle, operating margins remain at about 40% to 45%.”Oracle’s stock price is up 73% since the beginning of the year. According to LSEG, most analysts are bullish on the stock, with 33 out of 44 rating it a “buy” or “strong buy.” (Learn the best strategies for 2026 from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others on CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and information here.)
