Oracle Outperforms as Chip Stocks Face Headwinds: Pre-Market Analysis

Based on the latest market data and analyst reports, Oracle (ORCL) is leading pre-market gains among major tech stocks with a rally of over 2%, while NVIDIA (NVDA) and semiconductor peers are experiencing modest declines. This divergence reflects distinct company-specific catalysts and broader chip sector concerns.

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Oracle received a significant analyst upgrade on Monday, February 9, 2026, when DA Davidson raised the stock from a “neutral” rating to “buy” with a $180.00 price target [1][2]. This upgrade was notably predicated on the assessment that

—a key concern that had weighed heavily on investor sentiment in recent months [2]. The market had been worried about Oracle’s heavy capital commitments to support AI infrastructure, particularly its partnership with OpenAI, which required massive data center investments.

Despite lingering worries about Oracle’s substantial debt levels—total debt exceeding $100 billion following an $18 billion debt raise—the upgrade suggested that investors are becoming more comfortable with the company’s funding strategy. The company’s backlog has grown substantially, with remaining performance obligations (RPO) climbing to $523 billion, representing a

[4]. This provides a long runway of contracted revenue that helps justify the infrastructure spending.

Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business continues to generate momentum. Analysts expect the company’s fiscal 2026 EPS to grow approximately 35.7% year-over-year to $5.97, followed by a 6% annual increase to $6.33 in fiscal 2027 [4]. The company’s positioning in the AI infrastructure space, while capital-intensive, is viewed as a long-term growth catalyst as enterprise AI adoption accelerates.

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NVIDIA and broader chip stocks are facing pressure from supply chain developments. Reports indicate that

for next-generation “Vera Rubin” AI chips [5]. According to SemiAnalysis, NVIDIA plans to source HBM4 memory almost entirely from SK Hynix (approximately 70%) and Samsung (roughly 30%), leaving Micron with an effective zero share for this critical component [5]. This development has negative implications for Micron’s growth trajectory and creates uncertainty about NVIDIA’s supply chain diversification.

After significant gains in 2025, some chip stocks may be experiencing natural profit-taking. The semiconductor sector had been among the top performers through much of 2025, driven by AI demand, and the current pullback may reflect investors rebalancing positions.

Today’s sector performance data shows a

, with Real Estate (+3.07%), Utilities (+1.83%), and Healthcare (+1.76%) leading gains, while Technology (+1.31%) is posting more modest advances [0]. This rotation dynamic may be benefiting software and enterprise software names like Oracle over pure hardware chip manufacturers.

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The major indices showed strong gains on Friday, February 6, with the S&P 500 advancing 1.70%, the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.79%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.21% [0]. The technology sector’s modest 1.31% advance on Monday suggests the gains are being distributed unevenly across the sector, with company-specific factors driving the divergence between Oracle and chip stocks.

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Stock	Direction	Primary Catalyst
ORCL	+2%+	DA Davidson upgrade, easing OpenAI concerns
NVDA	Slight decline	HBM4 supply chain narrowing
MU	Declining	Excluded from NVIDIA’s HBM4 Vera Rubin plan

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Oracle’s pre-market outperformance reflects a combination of

and regarding its AI infrastructure investments. In contrast, NVIDIA and chip stocks face that are creating near-term uncertainty, particularly regarding HBM4 memory allocation for next-generation AI chips. The divergence is occurring within a broadly positive technology sector, suggesting these movements are more company and sub-industry specific rather than indicative of broader tech sector weakness.

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[1] MarketBeat - “Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Raised to Buy at DA Davidson” (https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/oracle-nyseorcl-raised-to-buy-at-da-davidson-2026-02-09/)

[2] Investing.com - “Oracle now a buy as DA Davidson says OpenAI risks are easing” (https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/oracle-now-a-buy-as-da-davidson-says-openai-risks-are-easing-4493332)

[3] Benzinga - “Where Oracle Stands With Analysts” (https://www.benzinga.com/insights/analyst-ratings/26/02/50476571/where-oracle-stands-with-analysts)

[4] Barchart - “Why 1 Analyst Just Slashed Their Price Target on Oracle Stock by More than 30%” (https://www.barchart.com/story/news/37250572/why-1-analyst-just-slashed-their-price-target-on-oracle-stock-by-more-than-30)

[5] Benzinga - “Micron Shut Out Of Nvidia’s HBM4 Plan As Specs Get Tougher” (https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/26/02/50473690/micron-shut-out-of-nvidias-hbm4-plan-as-specs-get-tougher)

[0]金灵API数据