Scotiabank starts coverage on Oracle with 'sector outperform'

Scotiabank initiates coverage on cloud service provider Oracle ORCL.N with "sector outperform" rating and $300 PT

New PT represents 24% premium to stock's last close

Brokerage sees Oracle's cloud-computing platform well-positioned in terms of competitive pricing, performance and security position to capitalize on growing demand for AI training

"Oracle's access to capital, deep support from NVIDIA and independence (as the firm isn't building foundation models)further create competitive edge in GPU-as-a-service," Scotiabank says

ORCL shares up 0.5% at $242.38 in early trading

30 of 41 brokerages rate stock "buy" or higher, rest rate "hold"; median PT is $240 - data compiled by LSEG

Including session's moves, ORCL up 47.7% YTD