On the glass-half-full side, Oracle shares — currently trading at around $50 — are still about 12% below the Street's consensus price target of $56. But the company will not only need a beat-and-raise on Thursday to get 2018 started off on the right foot, the management must convince investors that the improvements Oracle has made in its transition to a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model, is not running out of steam.