Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a moderately bullish outlook: Forty-three brokerages give Okta a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 32 buys, 10 holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is approximately $172.92.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Okta reported adjusted EPS of $1.05 versus the $0.96 consensus estimate and revenue of $805 million, up 10.6% year over year. Shares opened at $170.60, near the 52-week high of $174.85.
• Valuation and insider selling are key risks: Okta trades at roughly 103 times earnings, while insiders sold 220,376 shares worth about $31.4 million during the last quarter, although the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Shares of Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the forty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $172.9211.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Okta in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Mizuho upped their target price on Okta from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Okta in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Okta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Okta from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th.

Insider Activity at Okta

In other news, CEO Todd McKinnon sold 68,936 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.62, for a total value of $10,107,396.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,484 shares in the company, valued at $5,642,524.08. This trade represents a 64.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Larissa Schwartz sold 2,463 shares of Okta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $295,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,028,920. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 220,376 shares of company stock worth $31,355,385. 4.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okta

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Okta in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Okta by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 197 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Okta by 279.5% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 296 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Okta by 81.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 719 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Okta by 1,265.5% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 751 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.64% of the company's stock.

Okta Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:OKTA opened at $170.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.37. The company has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.79. Okta has a 12 month low of $62.66 and a 12 month high of $174.85.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $793.00 million. Okta had a return on equity of 4.50% and a net margin of 9.63%.Okta's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. 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, research analysts forecast that Okta will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Okta News

Here are the key news stories impacting Okta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst estimates increased: Scotiabank reportedly raised its earnings estimates for Okta, adding support to the bullish outlook following the company’s better-than-expected quarterly results. Scotiabank Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for Okta
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum remains favorable: Zacks highlighted Okta as a strong long-term momentum stock, reflecting its improving earnings performance, revenue growth and favorable price trends. The company recently reported revenue of $805 million, up 10.6% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.05 versus the $0.96 consensus estimate. Why Okta Is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: AI-agent opportunity strengthens the investment case: Commentary suggests Okta could benefit as businesses require identity, access and security controls for AI agents and other automated systems. This supports the company’s longer-term growth narrative. Okta AI Agents Strengthen My Thesis, But Valuation Is Catching Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Identity-security industry discussion: A comparison of Okta’s and Microsoft’s approaches underscores the growing importance of identity security, but does not identify a specific new contract or near-term financial catalyst for OKTA. What Okta and Microsoft’s Approaches Tell Us About the Future of Identity Security
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is becoming a concern: With shares trading near their 52-week high and at roughly 103 times earnings, bullish coverage cautions that expectations may already reflect much of Okta’s growth potential. Why Okta Is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long Term
• Negative Sentiment: CFO insider selling: CFO Brett Tighe sold a combined 80,000 Okta shares for approximately $12.9 million. Both transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces their significance as a discretionary bearish signal, but the scale of the sales could weigh on sentiment. Okta CFO SEC Form 4 Filing

About Okta

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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