Oracle stock to resume rise; eyes on deals -Barron's

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - Shares of the world's second-largest software maker, Oracle Corp (ORCL.O), look poised to resume their long-term ascent after stagnating this year, financial weekly publication Barron's said on Sunday.

The company trades at just 13.4 times consensus earnings for 2009, which is about the same as rivals Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), SAP (SAPG.DE) and IBM (IBM.N), despite its earnings growth being markedly stronger, the paper said.

The company could also venture deeper into data storage management by acquiring storage-related software, the article said.

It cited Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison as saying that if Symantec Corp (SYMC.O) was interested in spinning off its sizable storage and server-management business, formerly known as Veritas, he would be interested.

"But, then again, Ellison feels compelled to add, 'We'll talk to just about anybody,'", Barron's reported.

Another threat that looms large is the future of on-demand business software, like that from Salesforce.com (CRM.N), founded by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, Barron's said.

Barron's cited Ellison as saying that he would certainly talk to Benioff about a potential sale, but that isn't likely in the near future because Oracle doesn't do dilutive deals and Salesforce.com is trading at a pricey 90 times earnings.

"Sales force is too expensive," Ellison told Barron's, according to the publication. (Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)