Oracle Investors Like What They're Hearing

(Updates stock price)

Shares of database giant Oracle(ORCL Quote) surged Wednesday as investors responded to the firm's solid fourth-quarter results.

The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based firm beat Wall Street's estimates, despite seeing a dip in both revenue and profit.

Oracle's stock climbed $1.39, or 7%, to $21.26 in trading Wednesday, outpacing the broader rally in tech stocks that saw the Nasdaq rose 1.55%.

The software maker's fourth quarter could spell good news for other tech stocks entering earnings season. Larry Ellison's firm is seen as something of a bellwether for software firms wrestling with the effects of a turbulent economy.

Oracle enjoyed a record operating margin of 51% during its fourth quarter, and also issued bullish first-quarter guidance. The company expects revenue around of $5.4 billion and non-GAAP earnings between 31 and 33 cents a share in constant currency. Analysts had expected sales of $5.15 billion and earnings of 30 cents a share.

At least one analyst feels that Oracle, which is in the middle of its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems(JAVA Quote), has side-stepped the worst of the global economic crisis.

"Oracle continues to execute very well given the spending environment and relative to competition," wrote Ross MacMillan, an analyst at Jefferies & Company, in a note released Tuesday. "The company has a number of major new product releases over the next year, and has a big accretion event from the Sun Microsystems acquisition."

The analyst, who reiterated his Oracle "buy" rating and $24 price target, added that the company's future looks bright.