These 2 stocks have been crushed by the market today – are they buying now?

In general, Thursday was a busy day for the stock market. But you would not know that the performance of two veteran companies on the stock exchange, pharmacy chain operator Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) and longtime tech favorite Oracle (NYSE: ORCL).

The former suffered a negative impact of 21% on its share price, while the latter closed down 4% that day. Let's take a look at what happened with the pair and if these price declines represent buying opportunities.

Rite Aid: The dangers of an analyst downgrading

Rite Aid, the operator of the pharmacy chain, was one of the most stalled players. Investors escaped from the stock after being influential German Bank initiated cover on the stock.

It goes without saying that the investment bank was not really optimistic about the prospects of the company. Deutsche Bank analyst, George Hill, imposed a stock sale price on a target price of $ 5.00 the stock – well below its closing price market Wednesday.

Hill cited a number of factors in his critical analysis, including what he sees as dubious reliance on regional health plans and the pressure of prescription drug reimbursement.

For several years, the market as a whole has not been optimistic for Rite Aid, except for a few brief periods of optimism. A failed fusion between her and Walgreens Boots Alliance announced in 2015 has turned into a disappointing sale of over 1,900 Rite Aid stores in Walgreens. A subsequent acquisition by the operator of the Albertsons supermarket chain also failed.

So, Rite Aid these days is smaller and lacks the notoriety and power of its bigger peers. Although some of its operational and financial parameters have recently increased, the company is still struggling to increase its revenues and mop up its red ink reserves.

That said, the American population is aging. This should have a positive impact on the whole world of health care. Skilled traders in niche markets such as the pharmacy sector can take advantage of this opportunity.

But to what it seems, Walgreens and the other big pharma players in this game are better positioned than the weakened Rite Aid to do it. So maybe Deutsche Bank's tough prospects on the stock are not entirely justified, but they point to a lot of sensitive concerns about the company. Rite Aid does not look like an opportunistic purchase, even with falling prices.

Oracle's results and CEO hiatus weigh on the sentiment

The main reason Oracle's decline Thursday was quarterly results, coupled with potentially worrying news from Suite C.

Oracle's first quarter revenues were not as high as the average analysts' estimate (the result was $ 9.22 billion, compared with the anticipated $ 9.29 million). Non-GAAP net income (adjusted) was more or less in line with expectations at $ 2.76 billion ($ 0.81 per share).

Perhaps most disturbing was the unexpected news that co-CEO Mark Hurd was temporarily retiring from society because of what the company has vaguely described as "health-related reasons". Investors tend to favor the stability and consistency of the performance of their businesses, especially after being great cheeses in their industry for years. Such is the case with Oracle.

Nor does it help that Oracle relies on big buybacks, which for some is an inexpensive and expensive way to make money per share. In its first quarter press release, the company announced the authorization of an additional $ 15 billion.

Nevertheless, immersion seems to be an overreaction to these recent events. In my opinion, Oracle is still doing well in its long transition to a cloud-based service provider. It has made several smart acquisitions in potentially high-growth segments and has the capital, experience and customer base to capitalize on the opportunities presented. I would certainly consider buying Oracle on this collapse.