Okta Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:OKTA)

Key Points

• Okta saw unusually heavy bullish options activity, with investors buying 40,228 call options on Friday — about 227% above its average daily call volume.
• The stock surged 27.1% to $120.37, near its 52-week high, on much higher-than-normal trading volume.
• Recent earnings and guidance were strong: Okta beat estimates on both revenue and EPS, and management raised its outlook, helping fuel a more positive analyst sentiment.

Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 40,228 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 227% compared to the average daily volume of 12,290 call options.

Okta Trading Up 27.1%

Shares of OKTA stock traded up $25.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.37. 7,764,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,475,441. Okta has a 1 year low of $62.66 and a 1 year high of $120.43. The company's 50 day moving average is $79.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.69. The firm has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a PE ratio of 92.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $751.84 million. Okta had a return on equity of 4.18% and a net margin of 8.05%.The company's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Okta has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.790-3.870 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.950-0.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Okta will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Todd Mckinnon sold 11,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $912,415.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 97,083 shares in the company, valued at $7,864,693.83. This trade represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Robert Kelleher sold 16,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,345,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,600. The trade was a 52.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,884 shares of company stock worth $5,625,648. Insiders own 4.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okta

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OKTA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Okta by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,803,227 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,977 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Okta by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 465,370 shares of the company's stock worth $40,241,000 after purchasing an additional 161,069 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Okta by 40.1% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 52,597 shares of the company's stock worth $4,823,000 after purchasing an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Okta by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 98,063 shares of the company's stock worth $8,480,000 after purchasing an additional 18,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Okta by 124.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,819,081 shares of the company's stock worth $157,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,915 shares during the last quarter. 86.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on OKTA. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Okta from $120.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Okta in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Okta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Okta from $121.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $130.00 price target on shares of Okta in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.09.

Key Stories Impacting Okta

Here are the key news stories impacting Okta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Okta beat Wall Street estimates on both revenue and earnings, reporting $765 million in revenue and $0.91 in adjusted EPS, while also highlighting 11.2% year-over-year sales growth and improved operating profitability. Okta (OKTA) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted full-year and next-quarter guidance, signaling confidence in continued demand and execution; investors are viewing the outlook as a key reason the stock is re-rating higher. Okta shares surge after first-quarter earnings beat, raised guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised price targets after the report, including RBC, Truist, Berenberg, Oppenheimer, BTIG, Needham, BMO, JPMorgan, and others, reflecting improving sentiment around Okta’s enterprise momentum and AI-related identity opportunity. Okta Price Target Raised to $140 on Improving Fundamentals, AI-Driven Growth, and Conservative Upside Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and company commentary pointed to rising demand for identity security tied to AI agents, which is becoming an important growth narrative for Okta. Okta tops first-quarter results on agentic AI demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Okta also announced an upcoming investor conference appearance, which is supportive for visibility but not a major near-term catalyst by itself. Okta to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences

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.

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