Oracle shares fall on concerns over outlook

BOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares fell as much as 4 percent on Thursday on concerns that the company's growth was slowing after the software maker issued a sales forecast that disappointed Wall Street.

Oracle, led by billionaire Larry Ellison, predicted sales of new software licenses would climb 10 to 20 percent in the current quarter, which ends in August, That would be a slowdown from the year-earlier period's 35 percent growth and the May quarter's 27 percent rise.

"Let's face it, the macro-economic environment isn't the best," said UBS analyst Heather Bellini. "But I don't think people are giving it the proper perspective."

She said that the drop in Oracle's shares represented a buying opportunity for long-term shareholders looking to invest in the stock, which hit a seven-year high of $23.57 in early June. The shares were trading at $21.85 early on Thursday, down 3.1 percent from its previous Nasdaq close. Earlier in the session, they dropped to $21.61.

Oracle's outlook had overshadowed strong fiscal fourth-quarter results that outperformed market expectations. But some analysts said there was little reason for Oracle shares to rise above current levels for the next few months, as the August quarter is a seasonally weak period for the company.

New license sales are a key indicator for software makers because customers also sign maintenance contracts that typically cost 20 percent of the product price per year. Customers may also expand the number of workers using a program that they have already purchased.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Dave Zimmerman)