Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Okta from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their target price on Okta from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $175.00 price target on Okta in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Okta in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Okta in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.50.

Okta Trading Up 21.5%

Shares of NASDAQ OKTA opened at $163.28 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.23, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.77. Okta has a 12 month low of $62.66 and a 12 month high of $160.50.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. Analysts forecast that Okta will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric Robert Kelleher sold 3,977 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,238,413.80. This trade represents a 16.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Brett Tighe sold 65,000 shares of Okta stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 119,680 shares in the company, valued at $14,032,480. This represents a 35.20% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,347 shares of company stock valued at $21,827,342. Corporate insiders own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Okta by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Okta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Okta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Okta during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.64% of the company’s stock.

Okta News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Okta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Okta reported adjusted EPS of $1.05 versus the $0.96 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $805 million, ahead of the $793 million forecast. Okta quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook: Management lifted fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to approximately $3.216 billion-$3.226 billion, or 10%-11% growth. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $813 million-$817 million and EPS guidance of $0.92-$0.94 also topped Wall Street expectations. Okta lifts full-year outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related demand is strengthening the growth narrative: Okta said AI agents are creating new identity and security requirements, with new products contributing meaningfully to bookings. Investors view AI-agent security as a potentially large new market. Okta CEO discusses AI agent security
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support increased: KeyCorp raised its target to $190 and assigned an Overweight rating; BTIG raised its target to $187 and reiterated Buy; and Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald raised targets to $200 with Buy or Overweight ratings. These revisions signal greater confidence in Okta’s growth and fundamentals. Needham raises Okta price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a consideration: With Okta trading near $134 and at a high earnings multiple, the stock’s roughly $23 billion market capitalization leaves less room for execution disappointments despite the improved outlook. Okta buy thesis and margin for error

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.