Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on OKTA. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Okta from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Okta in a research report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Okta from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Okta in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Okta in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.92.

Okta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OKTA opened at $172.91 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $140.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.10. Okta has a 52-week low of $62.66 and a 52-week high of $174.85. The company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.77.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $793.00 million. Okta had a return on equity of 4.50% and a net margin of 9.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $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. On average, equities analysts predict that Okta will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 119,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,032,480. This trade represents a 35.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Eric Robert Kelleher sold 3,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.10, for a total transaction of $453,775.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,413.80. This represents a 16.86% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,347 shares of company stock valued at $21,827,342. Insiders own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okta

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OKTA. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Okta in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Okta by 64.2% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Okta during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Okta by 279.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Okta by 81.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.64% of the company’s stock.

More Okta News

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.

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.