Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Okta to “strong buy”, while the broader analyst consensus remains “moderate buy” with a $168.92 price target. Several firms also raised their targets, including Cantor Fitzgerald to $200.
• Okta reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.05 versus the $0.96 estimate and revenue of $805 million, up 10.6% year over year and above forecasts. Management also raised its fiscal 2027 outlook, supported by demand for identity and security tools related to AI agents.
• Shares rose 28.6% to $172.91, near their 52-week high, but the stock carries an elevated valuation with a P/E ratio above 100. Insiders sold 165,347 shares worth $21.8 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 86.64% of the company.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on OKTA. Capital One Financial set a $171.00 price target on Okta and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Okta in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Okta from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Okta from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Okta from $168.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.92.

Okta Trading Up 28.6%

Shares of OKTA stock opened at $172.91 on Thursday. Okta has a 12 month low of $62.66 and a 12 month high of $174.85. The stock has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.10.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $793.00 million. Okta had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 4.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Okta has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.900-3.940 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.920-0.940 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Okta will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Okta

In other news, CFO Brett Tighe sold 65,000 shares of Okta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.25, for a total transaction of $7,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 119,680 shares in the company, valued at $14,032,480. This trade represents a 35.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Larissa Schwartz sold 2,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $295,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,028,920. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 165,347 shares of company stock worth $21,827,342. 4.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OKTA. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Okta by 13,755.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,276,597 shares of the company's stock worth $4,949,942,000 after buying an additional 36,014,770 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Okta by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,030,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,422,000 after buying an additional 1,326,051 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Okta by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,553,091 shares of the company's stock worth $281,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,963 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Okta by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,261,303 shares of the company's stock worth $281,246,000 after acquiring an additional 57,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Okta by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,495,389 shares of the company's stock worth $215,776,000 after acquiring an additional 69,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.64% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Okta

Here are the key news stories impacting Okta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: Okta reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share, ahead of the $0.96 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $805 million, exceeding forecasts of approximately $793 million. Okta pops after topping estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised fiscal 2027 guidance: Management now expects full-year revenue of roughly $3.216 billion to $3.226 billion, up from its previous forecast. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $813 million to $817 million and adjusted EPS guidance of $0.92 to $0.94 also exceeded analyst estimates. Okta lifts full-year outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI is strengthening the cybersecurity opportunity: The growth of AI agents and increasingly sophisticated AI-powered threats is driving enterprise demand for identity controls, access governance and security tools. Okta launched Agent SSO to help customers manage identities and permissions for AI agents, while new products reportedly contributed about 30% of bookings. Okta launches Agent SSO
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Several firms raised price targets following the results, including Morgan Stanley and Truist to $200, RBC to $195, and JPMorgan to $190. Wells Fargo also upgraded the stock, citing signs that Okta’s growth strategy is turning a corner. Wells Fargo upgrades Okta
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment consideration: Okta’s improved outlook and AI positioning have increased investor optimism, but the stock is trading near its 52-week high and carries elevated valuation measures, including a P/E ratio above 100. Some analysts, including Citi and Mizuho, maintained neutral ratings with $165 targets, signaling limited near-term upside at recent levels.

Okta Company Profile

Okta, Inc is a publicly traded provider of identity and access management solutions, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2009 by Todd McKinnon and Frederic Kerrest, the company completed its initial public offering in April 2017. Under the leadership of McKinnon as chief executive officer and Kerrest as chief operating officer, Okta has grown into a leading vendor in the cybersecurity space, focusing on secure user authentication, single sign-on and lifecycle management for digital identities.

At the core of Okta's offering is the Okta Identity Cloud, a suite of cloud-native services that enable organizations to manage user access across web and mobile applications, on-premises systems and APIs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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