Baird initiates coverage on AI cloud firm Oracle ORCL.N with an "outperform" rating and PT of $365.

Brokerage says Oracle, a nearly 50-year-old software company, has positioned itself at the center of what it calls the most significant trend in the history of computing: AI.

Shares of the company rose 2% in morning trading.

"We view ORCL as very well-positioned to benefit from the accelerating spend on AI infrastructure, and the convergence of AI, data, and use cases that will emerge from the move from training to inference" - Baird.

Average rating of 46 analysts is "buy"; median PT $347 - data compiled by LSEG.

As of last close, ORCL is up nearly 73.2% YTD.