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Why the Market Dipped But Okta (OKTA) Gained Today

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In the latest trading session, Okta (OKTA - Free Report) closed at $93.25, marking a +0.5% move from the previous day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.88% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.08%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.95%.

The the stock of cloud identity management company has risen by 3.92% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 9.48% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.11%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Okta in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Okta to post earnings of $0.61 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 96.77%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $631.07 million, up 13.5% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.41 per share and a revenue of $2.53 billion, representing changes of +50.63% and +11.91%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Okta. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, Okta possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, Okta is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 38.48. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 25.33 of its industry.

It is also worth noting that OKTA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Internet - Software and Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.54.

The Internet - Software and Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 81, putting it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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