Core Viewpoint - Okta's shares have faced an 11% decline in a month due to a challenging macroeconomic environment, but an innovative product portfolio is expected to drive significant growth in 2025 [1] Company Performance - Year-to-date, Okta shares have returned 29.3%, outperforming competitors like Microsoft (MSFT), IBM, and CyberArk, which returned 3.6%, 4.6%, and -8.2% respectively [2] - Okta exited the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 with 19,650 customers and $4.215 billion in remaining performance obligations, indicating strong growth prospects for subscription revenues [5] - Customers with over $100 thousand in Annual Contract Value increased by 7% year-over-year to 4,800 [5] Product Demand and Innovation - Okta's innovative portfolio, including Okta AI and various identity solutions, is driving strong demand and client acquisition [5][6] - The recent introduction of Auth for GenAI in Developer Preview enhances secure identity integration in GenAI applications [8] Market Position and Recognition - Okta is gaining market share in the cybersecurity domain, outperforming Microsoft, IBM, and CyberArk, and has received accolades from Gartner for its access management capabilities [10][9] - The company has a rich partner base, including AWS, Google, and Salesforce, with over 7,000 integrations as of January 31, 2025 [11] Financial Outlook - For Q1 fiscal 2026, Okta expects revenues between $678 million and $680 million, reflecting a 10% year-over-year growth, with non-GAAP earnings projected between 76 and 77 cents per share [12] - For fiscal 2026, revenues are expected to be between $2.85 billion and $2.86 billion, indicating 9-10% growth from fiscal 2025 [13] - Okta's earnings have consistently beaten Zacks Consensus Estimates, with an average surprise of 15.7% over the trailing four quarters [14] Valuation Metrics - Okta is trading at a forward Price/Sales ratio of 6.05X, compared to the broader sector's 5.56X, indicating a premium valuation [15] - The stock is currently trading above the 200-day moving average, suggesting a bullish trend [19]

Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA ) leads in the identity security market with strong revenue visibility (RPO growth) and expanding bottom line (Rule of 40+ status and FCF margins). Enterprise demand is solid with record $1B+ quarterly bookings and high growth in $1M+ ACV clients. New products like Identity Governance (OIG) and PrivilegedHi, I'm Yiannis. Spotting winners before they break out is what I do best.Experience: Previously worked at Deloitte and KPMG in external/internal auditing and consulting. Education: Chart ...

Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. I am long all positions in the Best of Breed Growth Stocks Portfolio. Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA ) is s ...

Market Overview - Wild fluctuations on Wall Street present an ideal opportunity for investors to deploy capital [1] - Historical data indicates that the S&P 500 has experienced 40 corrections of at least 10% since 1950, averaging a decline every 1.9 years [2] - Recent market activity includes the largest single-session point gains and significant single-day losses for major indices, with the S&P 500 recording a 10.5% decline over two days [3] Investment Opportunities - **Block**: A fintech company with a strong foundation in its Square ecosystem, achieving gross payment volume (GPV) of over $227 billion in 2025, with consistent high single-digit growth [6] - Cash App's monthly active users increased from 24 million in 2019 to 57 million by the end of 2024, indicating strong growth potential [7] - Block shares are valued at just over 10 times forward-year earnings, presenting a compelling investment opportunity [8] - **Pinterest**: A social media platform with 553 million monthly active users, showing steady growth and improved ad-pricing power [10] - The platform's unique data-sharing model enhances its advertising capabilities, positioning it well for future e-commerce opportunities [11] - Pinterest ended the previous year with over $2.5 billion in cash and equivalents, allowing for future investments and share buybacks, with a forward P/E ratio of 12 [12] - **Okta**: A cloud-based cybersecurity provider that has become essential for businesses moving data online, with a focus on identity verification solutions [14][15] - Okta's remaining performance obligations reached $4.22 billion by the end of fiscal 2025, indicating strong demand and a growing backlog [16] - The company's subscription margin is expected to approach 80%, and its forward P/E ratio is below 29, reflecting its growth potential despite being pricier than the S&P 500 average [17]

Core Viewpoint - The cybersecurity market is projected to grow significantly, benefiting both Cisco Systems and Okta, with Cisco focusing on enterprise network security and Okta on identity and access management [2]. Group 1: Cisco Systems - Cisco Systems' security business is experiencing robust growth, with strong demand for Cisco Secure Access and XDR, attracting over 1,000 customers and approximately 1 million enterprise users for each product [3]. - In Q2 fiscal 2025, Cisco's security orders more than doubled, with security revenues increasing 117% year over year to $2.11 billion, driven by Splunk, SASE, and Network Security [4]. - Cisco launched new security products, including Splunk on Azure and AI Assistant for Splunk Observability, expanding its security portfolio [5]. - Cisco is collaborating with NVIDIA to develop the Cisco Secure AI Factory, focusing on securing AI infrastructure [6]. Group 2: Okta - Okta is experiencing strong demand for its identity security solutions, with over 20% of Q4 fiscal 2025 bookings from new products, including Okta Identity Governance and Identity Threat Protection [7]. - The company served 19,650 customers by the end of Q4 fiscal 2025, reflecting a growing need for secure identity management [8]. - Okta's partnership with AWS has strengthened its security efforts, with over 70% of deals influenced by partners, surpassing $1 billion in total contract value through this partnership [9]. Group 3: Stock Performance and Valuation - Year to date, Cisco shares have decreased by 10.2%, while Okta shares have increased by 15.9%, with Cisco facing challenges from macroeconomic uncertainty and competition [10]. - Both Cisco and Okta shares are currently considered overvalued, with Cisco trading at a forward Price/Sales ratio of 3.64X and Okta at 5.47X [13]. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cisco's fiscal 2025 earnings is $3.72 per share, indicating a 0.27% decline year over year, while Okta's fiscal 2026 earnings estimate is $3.17 per share, reflecting a 12.81% increase year over year [16]. Group 4: Earnings Performance - Both Cisco and Okta have consistently beaten earnings estimates in the past four quarters, with Okta showing a higher average surprise of 15.7% compared to Cisco's 4.07% [17]. Group 5: Conclusion - Okta is viewed as a more attractive investment due to its focus on identity solutions, stronger earnings performance, and higher growth potential, while Cisco is expanding its security footprint [18].

Amid broad-market pressure, cloud stock Okta Inc (NASDAQ:OKTA) has pulled back sharply from its March 24, more than two-year high of $118.07, down 12.6% since the start of April alone. For those betting on a bounce, however, the pullback does have OKTA coming into contact with its 126-day moving average, a historically bullish signal. Per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, the security is within one standard deviation of the 126-day trendline for the first time in at least eight of the las ...

Group 1 - The average brokerage recommendation (ABR) for Okta (OKTA) is 2.00, indicating a Buy, based on recommendations from 39 brokerage firms, with 48.7% as Strong Buy and 5.1% as Buy [2][5][14] - Brokerage recommendations may not effectively guide investors in selecting stocks with high potential for price appreciation, as studies suggest limited success in this regard [5][10] - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a positive bias in their ratings due to vested interests, often leading to a misalignment with retail investors' interests [6][7][10] Group 2 - The Zacks Rank, which is based on earnings estimate revisions, is a more reliable indicator of near-term stock price performance compared to ABR, which is solely based on brokerage recommendations [8][11] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Okta has increased by 5.7% over the past month to $3.17, indicating growing optimism among analysts regarding the company's earnings prospects [13] - The recent change in the consensus estimate, along with other factors, has resulted in a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) for Okta, suggesting that the Buy-equivalent ABR may be a useful guide for investors [14]

Louis created L.A. Stevens Research in which he runs the LAS Index, a basket of stocks chosen via his proprietary method for investing, which has consistently outperformed the indices since its launch. Louis Stevens is a former U.S. Army engineer officer who holds an MBA and a BA in political science. Since beginning his journey publishing investment research, Louis has become one of the leading analysts in the investing community, ranking in the top .1% according to TipRanks: https://www.tipranks.com/exper ...

Okta (OKTA) shares have appreciated 48.2% year to date (YTD), courtesy of its portfolio strength. More than 20% of fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 bookings were from new products, including Okta Identity Governance, Privileged Access, Device Access, Fine Grain Authorization, Identity Security Posture Management and Identity Threat Protection with Okta AI.OKTA’s innovative portfolio is helping the company win clients, driving top-line growth. It exited fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 with 19,650 customers and $4.215 b ...

Alphabet’s (GOOGL) recent agreement to acquire cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion marks its largest deal in history and signals a major shift in the cybersecurity landscape. As competition in cloud computing and AI security heats up, cybersecurity companies like Okta Inc (OKTA) and Fortinet (FTNT) could see significant upside.Google’s $32B Bet on CybersecurityGoogle’s cloud division is rapidly expanding, with annual revenues jumping 64% from $26.3 billion in 2022 to $43.2 billion last year. However, Go ...