Okta (OKTA) closed at $220.20 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.01% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.47% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.25%.
Heading into today, shares of the cloud identity management company had gained 26.2% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.15%.
The upcoming earnings release of Okta will be of great interest to investors. On that day, Okta is projected to report earnings of $0.93 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.41%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $815.52 million, reflecting a 9.91% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $3.93 per share and a revenue of $3.22 billion, signifying shifts of +12.29% and +10.44%, respectively, from the last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Okta. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Okta is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Okta has a Forward P/E ratio of 55.51 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 55.51, so one might conclude that Okta is trading at no noticeable deviation comparatively.
Also, we should mention that OKTA has a PEG ratio of 3.32. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Security industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.18.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, placing it within the top 44% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Okta, Inc. (OKTA): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).