KeyBanc Continues To Identify Potential For Further Upside In Okta

Integrated identity and mobility management company Okta Inc OKTA on Thursday reported forecasting-beating results for its fiscal-year 2019 second quarter. The company issued upbeat guidance for the third quarter and fiscal year 2019.

The Analyst

Reviewing the results, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Rob Owens maintained his Overweight rating Okta and increased his price target from $65 to $74.

The Thesis

Okta's beat-and-raise quarter was characterized by an acceleration in customer growth, record additions to the over $100K ACV, better-than-expected bookings and operating margin expansion, and stable 121 percent retention rate, Owens said in a note.

As such, the analyst raised his top-line estimates, citing underlying momentum, and made modest revisions to his profitability estimates due to expectations for continued growth investment.

Okta is continuing to monetize its customer base, as reflected by the 121 percent dollar-based net retention rate for the quarter, Owens said. The analyst sees the sustainable growth trajectory as promising in the wake of supportive macro trends, including cloud adoption.

"With the Okta opportunity continuing to thrive on an improving appreciation of the value in cloud-based identity, we continue to identify the potential for further upside," Owens said.

Price Action

Shares of Okta have jumped about 135 percent over the year-to-date period.

At time of writing, shares were rallying 15.29 percent to $69.40 on Friday.

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