Oracle Corp. s stock price fell more than 7 percent Thursday on disappointing third-quarter sales, but some analysts remained optimistic about the business software maker's ability to shrug off a weakening U.S. economy and protect its healthy profit margins. Shares of the Redwood Shores-based company fell $1.51 from Wednesday's close to end trading Thursday at $19.43 following the release of Oracle's disappointing third-quarter earnings report late Wednesday. The report showed that Oracle's profits for the period jumped 30 percent to $1.34 billion, matching analyst estimates, and sales jumped 21 percent to $5.35 billion.

But that revenue figure fell short of Wall Street's forecast. Oracle blamed the miss on customers delaying big buying decisions because of worries about the economy.

Investors were particularly troubled by weakness in the sales of new licenses for business applications. The database software leader has poured billions of dollars into that area through acquisitions to expand its product offerings and create a one-stop-shop for business software.

Still, some analysts on Thursday brushed aside fears about Oracle's long-term vulnerability to the economic jitters that dampened sales growth in the third quarter.

They predicted Oracle would continue to preserve its profit margins because the company has a broad international presence and strong, guaranteed sales from maintenance contracts tied to its software.

Oracle's $35 billion acquisition spree over the past three years also will help it continue growing in a slowdown because it can sell across many different product lines, the analysts said.

"One industry analyst we spoke to talked of an 'Oracle-first policy,' whereby customers were beginning to look to Oracle first to meet their needs before even investigating other vendors," analysts from Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research wrote in a note to clients. "They like the 'one throat to choke' stance."

Goldman Sachs reiterated its "buy" rating on Oracle's stock.

However, some analysts said the results proved Oracle isn't as insulated from market turbulence as many investors previously thought.

"Though (Oracle) remains a reasonably defensive investment, clearly it is not immune to U.S. economic or financial sector weakness," analysts from Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. wrote in a note to clients.

Written By JORDAN ROBERTSON

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