Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 69,526 call options on Okta, representing a 245% increase from the average daily volume of 20,159 call options.
• Insider transactions included Larissa Schwartz selling 2,244 shares and CFO Brett Tighe selling 10,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their share positions.
• A number of institutional investors have adjusted their positions, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services increasing its stake by 52.4% in the last quarter.
• Okta's stock trades at approximately $103.97, with analysts adjusting price targets, signaling a mix of ratings including sell, hold, and buy recommendations.

Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 69,526 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 245% compared to the average volume of 20,159 call options.

Okta Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of OKTA traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.99. 6,785,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,660,026. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.11. Okta has a twelve month low of $70.56 and a twelve month high of $127.57. The stock has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $688.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Okta's quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Okta will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OKTA. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Okta from $140.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Okta from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Okta from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Okta in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Okta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Okta presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.61.

Insider Activity

In other Okta news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,994.60. This represents a 60.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jacques Frederic Kerrest sold 581 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.29, for a total transaction of $58,268.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,021.28. This trade represents a 17.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,594 shares of company stock valued at $7,482,790 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Okta by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Okta by 64.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Okta by 1,751.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 87,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,785,000 after buying an additional 83,129 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in Okta by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new position in Okta in the 2nd quarter valued at $565,000. 86.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Okta Company Profile

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.