Oracle shares were surging in premarket trading Tuesday after the enterprise software company posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and issued strong fiscal-year guidance.

Oracle (ticker: ORCL) was up 12.6% to $72.14. The stock has declined 26.6% this year.

Analysts at Citi said Oracle's quarter was a positive sign for the sector, and that "enterprise demand still remains intact despite a more uncertain macro environment." Citi rates the stock at Neutral with a price target of $75.

In the fourth quarter, Oracle reported adjusted earnings of $1.54 a share on revenue of $11.8%, up 5% from a year earlier or 10% in constant currency. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.37 a share on revenue of $11.6 billion.

Cloud revenue in the quarter was $2.9 billion, up 19%, or 22% adjusted for currency. Chief Executive Safra Catz said the company's cloud business should grow more than 30% in fiscal 2023.

For the first quarter, Catz said the company expects cloud revenue will be up 25% to 28% in constant currency excluding Cerner, which Oracle just acquired for $28 billion .

Citi said Oracle's outlook for the fiscal first quarter "was a bit of a mixed bag" but the guidance on cloud revenue "we view as a strong initial outlook."

Barclays, which rates Oracle shares Equal Weight with a price target of $82, said Oracle's earnings beat came from strength in licenses and said the company's cloud results were below consensus.

"[Oracle] guided for an acceleration of cloud growth next year and Cerner will start to help a little which means a positive bias likely remains but we are not sure it is worth chasing the shares until there is more clarity around the full Cerner impact and broader macro picture," Barclays wrote in a research note.

"Oracle's results may present a little bit of relief to its investors, especially in the context of markets in the past few days," said Adam Vettese, analyst at investment network eToro.

"Unfortunately, such positive news is likely to be drowned out by the wider conversation around inflation and rates, but for investors willing to continue to dig through companies, there are still gems like this to be found," Vettese added.