Larry Ellison was days away from selling a large portion of his Oracle stock (ORCL). Then he called it off.
The reversal, which he made on Saturday, Sept. 12, caught Wall Street’s attention.
Insiders rarely cancel a multibillion-dollar sale publicly, just a day after the plan becomes known.
Ellison is Oracle’s co-founder and executive chairman. He owns close to 40% of the software company, so what he does with his shares matters to everyone who holds the stock.
Oracle shares have also fallen sharply this year, which is why his decision calls for attention.
What Ellison’s canceled Oracle stock sale really signals
“No Oracle stock was sold under that plan,” the company confirmed on Sept. 12. It added that Ellison has no other plans to sell.
CNBC reported that the reversal came one day after a regulatory filing revealed the plan.
The plan was adopted June 22 and would have run through Oct. 24. It covered up to 50 million shares worth about $7.5 billion at recent prices.
A large insider sale can affect a stock that is already under pressure. The cancellation removes that worry for now.
What Oracle does and how it makes money
Oracle sells database software and business applications. It also rents out data center capacity through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or OCI, which powers AI workloads.
That cloud business now drives most of the company’s growth.
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In its fiscal first quarter, OCI revenue jumped 121% and total revenue rose 30% to about $19.3 billion, according to Morningstar.
Oracle also beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast.
The cash pressure behind Oracle’s AI buildout
Oracle spent $28.5 billion on data centers in Q1, and the company reported negative free cash flow of about $5.4 billion, Forbes noted.
It also lifted its restructuring bill by $700 million to about $2.8 billion.
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Oracle still plans to spend $90 billion to $95 billion in fiscal 2027 to keep building data centers.
That heavy spending, including rising debt, explains the sell-off.
How Oracle stock has held up in 2026
Here’s how Oracle looks against the market this year.
Oracle stock vs. the market this year
- ORCL is down about 23% year to date, far worse than the broad market.
- Shares fell about 5.75% over the past five days.
- The stock trades near $150, well below its 52-week high near $330.
The drop reflects investors’ worry about rising debt and cash outflows.
Demand itself looks strong. Oracle’s backlog reached a record $664 billion, with more than $30 billion in new AI contracts booked in the quarter, Investing.com reported.
What Wall Street analysts think about Oracle now
Analysts have different opinions about the stock.
BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $195 from $220 but kept an Outperform rating, Yahoo Finance reported.
Morgan Stanley held an Equal-Weight rating with a $210 target.
Still, 28 analysts cover Oracle, and the average rating is a Strong Buy, with a 12-month target at $254.32.
What Oracle investors should watch next
Some things have to go right for Oracle to meet expectations.
What still needs to go right for Oracle
- Turn the $664 billion backlog into real revenue on schedule.
- Keep gross margins steady as new data centers come online.
- Fund the buildout without scaring lenders.
Ellison’s reversal tells investors that ORCL’s biggest shareholder prefers to keep his money in the company for now.
For a volatile stock, that signal is worth attention.
The next test comes on Oct. 28, when Oracle holds its financial analyst day.
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