Okta shares soared on Thursday after its third-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations. Even a downgraded growth forecast wasn’t enough to deter investors looking for technology stocks well placed for a rebound from current lows.
This earnings season has been marked by a series of warnings of cutbacks in corporate spending from business-software companies. Okta (ticker: OKTA) proved to be no exception, saying it expects revenue growth in its fiscal 2024 to decelerate to 16%-17% against consensus expectations of around 27%.
“While we didn’t experience a meaningful change in sales cycles, we are seeing signs that the environment has further weakened since we spoke last quarter,” Brett Tighe, Okta’s chief financial officer, told analysts on a call.
Okta shares soared 18% in premarket trading on Thursday anyway, buoyed by quarterly revenue of $481 million coming in ahead of expectations and the company just about recording a positive operating margin of 0.1% against consensus forecasts of a negative margin of 7.8%.
Investors are rewarding the rare positive surprise among tech stocks this earnings season, with human-resources software provider Workday (WDAY) rallying after its own earnings on Wednesday.
Okta has some company-specific reasons why it might be a good candidate for bargain hunters, starting with its beaten-down share price. Its shares are down 76% so far this year, against a 35% fall in the Nasdaq 100 Technology Sector Index.
Okta has been dogged by problems integrating its sales force with that of Auth0, which it acquired in 2021. That problem could be easing, with CEO Todd McKinnon saying its turnover of sales representatives is now at its lowest level in several quarters.
However, there are also reasons to be cautious. D.A. Davidson analysts, led by Rudy Kessinger, wrote in a research note that Okta could lose out on deals to Microsoft (MSFT) which has a “significant pricing advantage” and noted concerns about the short tenure of much of the company’s sales force. They kept a Neutral rating on the stock but raised their target price to $60 from $45 previously. Shares traded at close to $63 in Thursday’s premarket.
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