Oracle Stock: What's *Really* Going On With That Price

Tepper Dumps Oracle? Good Riddance. Now He's Gambling on Banks? Seriously?

So, Tepper, the "investment genius" who made billions, suddenly bails on Oracle (ORCL) after its little AI-fueled rally? Give me a break. The stock popped 40% and then retraced almost all of it. He's out. Color me shocked. This is news?

The AI Hype Train is a Gravy Train (for Some)

Oracle, bless their hearts, tried to ride the AI wave by building out specialized data centers loaded with GPUs, the kind that NVDA (Nvidia) makes. They inked deals with OpenAI and bragged about future cloud revenue—$144 billion annually in four years? Seriously? That's like saying I'm going to win the lottery every week for the next decade. It might happen, but I ain't betting on it.

And Tepper isn't either, apparently. He saw the writing on the wall, maybe the rising costs of those fancy data centers, the thinner margins, the general AI valuation bubble that's about to burst like a cheap balloon.

I mean, let's be real, every company is claiming to be an "AI" play now. It's the new blockchain, the new metaverse, the new whatever-shiny-object-distracts-you-from-the-impending-economic-doom. Are we really supposed to believe that Oracle, a company that's been around since before the internet was cool, is suddenly going to become an AI powerhouse overnight? I'm not buying it.

Banks? Are You Kidding Me?

But here's the kicker: Where does Tepper put his money after dumping Oracle? Into...banks? Regional banks, no less? Fiserv, Truist, KeyCorp, Citizens Financial, Comerica, Western Alliance, Zions Bancorporation. Names that scream "excitement" and "innovation," right? According to a recent report, Billionaire David Tepper Dumped Appaloosa's Stake in Oracle and Is Piling Into a Sector That Wall Street Thinks Will Outperform.

Wall Street is "bullish" on financials, apparently. Morgan Stanley and SoFi are singing their praises. They say banks are "poised for deregulation," that the Fed might lower capital requirements, blah, blah, blah.

Oh, and Comerica got acquired in October. So Tepper made a quick buck there. Lucky him.

But let's be real. Banks? After the SVB fiasco? After the near-collapse of the entire system a few months ago? After years of low interest rates and minimal lending? After the rise of private credit that basically ate the banks' lunch?

What am I missing here? Are we supposed to believe that suddenly, now, banks are going to become these lean, mean, lending machines, raking in profits and showering shareholders with dividends? Maybe I'm just too cynical, but it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Maybe these regional banks will get acquired. Maybe Tepper will make another quick buck. But is that really "investing"? Or is it just gambling with slightly better odds?

Offcourse, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Tepper is a genius, and I'm just a bitter columnist with a keyboard and a penchant for complaining. But I doubt it.

So, What's the Real Story?

Tepper's playing a dangerous game, betting on sectors that are either overhyped or fundamentally broken. He's chasing short-term gains instead of building long-term value. And frankly, I'm tired of watching these billionaire "geniuses" gamble with the economy while the rest of us struggle to pay the bills.