Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) About to Enter Q2 With A Bang

A 7% jump in Thursday’s session was enough to make shares of Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) among the best performing of US equities on the day. They’ve now jumped more than 20% in the past month and look to be well on their way to reversing the damage done during last quarter’s correction. 

That 30% dip was in many ways reminiscent of a similar one almost twelve months ago to the day, and it only took until the middle of April last time for Okta shares to get back above their pre-correction levels. This time, there are several fundamental factors in play that should allow the comparison to hold strong. 

Management Updates

Much of this week’s jump has come off the back of the company’s recent investor day which saw management reaffirming their quarter and full-year guidance. In addition to this, they announced two key product launches which Wall Street was quick to see the upside on. As we’ve seen in the share price since, there’s nothing like some solid reassurance and roadmap updates from leadership to make investors feel the warm and fuzzies after a period of selling. 

Keith Bachmann at BMO sees the updates increasing Okta’s total addressable market by as much as $15 billion, with a ton of potential there for Okta to maintain long-lasting growth. He maintained his Outperform rating and $265 price target on shares, which suggests there’s upside of at least 10% from Thursday’s closing price. 

For a $30 billion company whose Q4 numbers, reported last month, had revenue growing at 40% year on year, you’re inclined to think there’s some value to be had with Okta shares trading where they are. A recent run of high-profile security incidents has made their raison d'être all the more relevant, with few if any enterprise companies prepared to start cutting their spending on security. Last quarter’s announcement of the Auth0 acquisition is still being digested and this week’s guidance affirmation didn’t even include any upside from that side of things.

Auth0 will be bringing more than 10,000 customers with them and will put Okta’s identity management offering on a par with Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT). The 50% annual growth that Auth0 is also bringing to the table certainly won’t go amiss while Okta themselves can’t be said to be taking the foot off the gas either. The record 600 new customers they closed last quarter is testament to that. 

Getting Involved

Shares found decent support around the $210 level and have now started turning aggressively north. As they make their way through the $200s there’s a rising RSI and a bullish MACD crossover supporting them, making it hard to say they’re not in full rally mode.

For investors with a long-term horizon who are considering getting involved, Okta shares are giving a lot of good reasons to be considered right now. They’re a market leader in their field, printing record growth numbers and have a growing addressable market. Their shares are picking up a head of steam after a significant haircut last quarter, and considering the 130% rally they notched in just three months last time, you’d want to be very bearish on the industry to not be excited this time.