Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Okta's stock price gapped up to $97.43 after an analyst upgrade from Royal Bank of Canada, which raised the price target to $115.00, following a previous closing price of $91.56.
• The company has received varying ratings from analysts, with 22 giving a Buy rating, 12 issuing a Hold rating, and 3 recommending a Sell, resulting in an average price target of $117.64.
• Recently, there have been notable insider sales, with CEO Todd McKinnon selling over 31,000 shares, representing a significant decrease in his ownership stake.

Shares of Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $113.00 to $115.00. The stock had previously closed at $91.56, but opened at $97.43. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Okta shares last traded at $94.80, with a volume of 6,027,321 shares.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on OKTA. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Okta in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Okta in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Okta in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of Okta in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Arete initiated coverage on shares of Okta in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.64.

Insider Activity at Okta

In related news, insider Larissa Schwartz sold 2,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,640 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,000. This represents a 8.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd Mckinnon sold 31,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.30, for a total value of $3,010,717.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,994.60. The trade was a 60.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,594 shares of company stock valued at $8,382,790 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Okta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Okta by 167.4% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 246 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Okta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Okta in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Okta by 152.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 260 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Okta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 86.64% of the company's stock.

Okta Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.41, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $95.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.39.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.09. Okta had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 2.79%. The business had revenue of $688.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $680.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Okta, Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Okta

Okta, Inc operates as an identity partner in the United States and internationally. The company offers Okta's suite of products and services used to manage and secure identities, such as Single Sign-On that enables users to access applications in the cloud or on-premises from various devices; Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication provides a layer of security for cloud, mobile, web applications, and data; API Access Management enables organizations to secure APIs; Access Gateway enables organizations to extend Workforce Identity Cloud; and Okta Device Access enables end users to securely log in to devices with Okta credentials.

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