According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a 7.7% increase over the previous year and a marginal increase over the prior month, lower than the Dow Jones estimate.

Following a favorable inflation report, the odds of the Fed slowing down on its rate hike aggression have increased. The CME FedWatch tool recently showed an 80.6% probability of a 50-bps rate hike in December.

Value stocks pulled off a historic month of outperformance against growth names. Investors’ interest in value and bargain stocks is evident from the Vanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF’s (VONV) 12% gains over the past month.

In addition, Savita Subramanian, Bank of America (BAC) Securities head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy, said, “Value factors have also historically benefitted from year-end seasonality.”

Therefore, we think fundamentally sound stocks Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) could be bargain buys for 2023.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL)

ORCL offers products and services that address enterprise technology environments. The company provides Oracle cloud software, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management.

On November 3, 2022, ORCL announced the launch of Oracle Public Safety Services, a new technology platform for law enforcement and first responders. The platform has a unified hardware and software suite and is a significant addition to the company’s offerings.

In terms of forward EV/EBIT, ORCL’s 13.88x is 9.4% lower than the industry average of 15.32x. The stock’s forward Price/Cash Flow multiple of 13.15 is 23.3% lower than the industry average of 17.16.

ORCL’s total revenues came in at $11.45 billion for the first quarter that ended August 31, 2022, up 17.7% year-over-year. Moreover, its cloud services and license support revenue came in at $8.42 billion, up 14.2% year-over-year. Also, its services revenue came in at $1.36 billion, up 74.3% year-over-year.

Analysts expect ORCL’s revenue to increase 16.1% year-over-year to $49.29 billion in 2023. Its EPS is expected to increase marginally year-over-year to $4.95 in 2023. The stock has lost 11.5% year-to-date to close the last trading session at $77.17.

ORCL’s strong fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock’s overall B rating indicates a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 different factors, each with its own weighting. 

ORCL has a B grade for Sentiment and Stability. In the Software - Application industry, it is ranked #23 out of 143 stocks. Click here for the additional POWR Ratings for Value, Momentum, Growth, and Quality for ORCL.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A)

A operates in Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab segments. The company offers services to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets.

On October 3, 2022, A announced the release of its improved 8700 LDIR Chemical Imaging System, which has been optimized for the analysis of microplastics in environmental samples. This new product addition aims to enhance the company’s growth potential.

In terms of trailing-12-month GAAP PEG, A is trading at 0.91x, 6.6% lower than the industry average of 0.97x.

A’s net revenue came in at $1.72 billion for the third quarter that ended July 31, 2022, up 8.3% year-over-year. Moreover, its net income came in at $329 million, up 24.6% year-over-year. Its EPS came in at $1.10, up 27.9% year-over-year.

A’s revenue is expected to increase by 21.2% year-over-year to $6.75 billion in 2022. Its EPS is expected to grow 32.1% year-over-year to $5.06 in 2022. It surpassed EPS estimates in all four trailing quarters. The stock has lost 8.4% year-to-date to close the last trading session at $146.30.

A has an overall A rating, equating to a Strong Buy in our POWR Ratings system.

It has a B grade for Stability, Sentiment, and Quality. It is ranked #3 out of 54 stocks in the Medical - Diagnostics/Research industry. Beyond what is stated above, we’ve also rated A for Value, Growth, and Momentum. Get all A’s ratings here.

ORCL shares were trading at $77.78 per share on Friday afternoon, up $0.61 (+0.79%). Year-to-date, ORCL has declined -9.27%, versus a -15.03% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

Rashmi is passionate about capital markets, wealth management, and financial regulatory issues, which led her to pursue a career as an investment analyst. With a master's degree in commerce, she aspires to make complex financial matters understandable for individual investors and help them make appropriate investment decisions.

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