Shares of Okta Inc (NASDAQ:OKTA) are up 1.7% Monday morning to trade at $93.62, as investors await the cloud company's earnings report, due out after Tuesday's close. Ahead of the event, Truist Securities upgraded the stock from a "hold" to "buy," raising its target price from $100 to $125. The firm pointed to a less pressured second half of the year and growing traction for Okta's platforms as reasons why the San Francisco-based equity could see another earnings and revenue beat.
If momentum holds, Okta is on track for its third-straight weekly gain. The stock has seen sharp swings this year, notching one of its best sessions ever in March and one of its worst in May following a series of price cuts. Now working to regain its footing, OKTA is finding support at the $90 level and holding onto a 17.2% year-to-date lead.
Analysts are split on how Okta will perform when markets open Wednesday following its earnings report. Currently, 24 firms remain bullish with a "buy" or better rating, while 18 are taking a more cautious stance, assigning it a "hold" or worse.
Options traders, though, are firmly betting on the stock's underperformance. So far today, the stock has seen 4,400 puts, volume that's double the usual amount seen at this point. The most popular contract today is the weekly August 65-strike put, with new positions opening there.
Traders have more confidence in the stock long-term, as its 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.97 at the International Securities (ISE), Cboe Options (CBOE) and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 93% of readings from the past year.
