Okta Stock Soars On Q4 Results: What's Going On?

Okta, Inc. OKTA shares are blasting higher Thursday after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued upbeat guidance.

The Details:

Okta reported quarterly earnings of 63 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate of 51 cents, and quarterly sales came in at $605 million, above the analyst consensus estimate of $587.5 million.

The company issued guidance above estimates for both the next quarter and fiscal year 2025. It sees first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 54 cents to 55 cents, above the estimate of 42 cents, and total quarterly revenue of between $603 million and $605 million, versus the $584.89 million estimate.

Okta expects fiscal year 2025 earnings per share of between $2.24 and $2.29, above the $1.98 estimate, and total revenue of between $2.495 billion and $2.505 billion, versus the $2.48 billion estimate.

Several analysts have updated coverage on Okta following the print: 

• WestPark Capital analyst Casey Ryan upgraded Okta from a Hold to a Buy and announced a $140 price target.
• Bernstein maintained its Market Perform rating and raised the price target from $84 to $114.
• Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley maintained a Hold rating on Okta and raised the price target from $85 to $95.
• Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens maintained a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $85 to $110.
• Truist Securities analyst Gregory Miller reiterated Okta’s Hold rating and raised the price target from $85 to $105.

Related News: Okta Stock Rises On Better-Than-Expected Q4 Results: EPS Beat, Revenue Beat, Upbeat Guidance

Is OKTA A Good Stock To Buy?

An investor can make a few decisions when deciding whether a stock is a good buy. In addition to valuation metrics and price action which you can find on Benzinga's quote pages – like Okta‘s page for example – there are factors like whether or not a company pays a dividend or buys a large portion of its stock each quarter.

These are known as capital allocation programs. Okta OKTA does not pay a dividend, but obviously has a few ways it can return value to shareholders. Feel free to search Benzinga's dividend calendar for the next company that is due to pay a dividend and determine what kind of yield you can earn for holding a share of the company.

For example, if you're looking to earn an annualized return of 14.96%, you'll need to buy a share of NexPoint Real Est Finance by the Mar. 14, 2024. Once done, you can expect to receive a nominal payout of $0.5 on Mar. 28, 2024.

Buyback programs are obviously different and highly variable. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the course of time in which the buyback was authorized. Looking through the latest news on Okta will often yield whether or not the company has approved a buyback program recently. Buyback programs usually serve as a support for share prices, serving as a backstop for demand.

OKTA Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Okta shares are up 22.1% at $106.61 at the time of publication.

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