AUSTIN, Texas: After a breathtaking rally that pushed Oracle to the brink of the trillion-dollar club, the stock cooled on Thursday as investors locked in profits from the AI-fueled surge. The pause came just a day after the enterprise software maker posted its biggest one-day jump in more than three decades, powered by massive cloud deals that spotlighted the global scramble for computing power.

Shares fell about 4% after climbing as much as 35.9% on Wednesday, leaving Oracle's market value at around $894 billion. That's down from the record $933 billion it reached at the close of the previous session but still nearly double its value since the start of the year.

The rally has also boosted the fortune of co-founder Larry Ellison, whose 41% stake in the company pushed his net worth to roughly $371.7 billion. That puts him within striking distance of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who leads Forbes' global rich list at $441.2 billion.

"A bit of buyer exhaustion here," said Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network. "I think the ‘buy the dip' crowd is likely to re-emerge. The guidance was so incredible, hard to think that this story is over."

Oracle said on Tuesday its order backlog is expected to reach half a trillion dollars in the coming months. The Wall Street Journal also reported that OpenAI signed a $300 billion computing contract with Oracle, one of the largest cloud deals ever.

Fueled by demand from companies racing to secure AI capacity, Oracle's stock has outpaced even the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants, making it one of the S&P 500's top performers this year.

Analysts remain upbeat: the median price target of $342 implies about a 9% upside from Wednesday's close at $314.45. Still, Oracle trades at a premium compared to rivals, with a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 45.3 versus 31.3 for Amazon and 31 for Microsoft.