Okta Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) rose 1% amid some speculation that the cloud identity access management firm could be targeted by an activist investor. The company was also presenting at a sell-side conference on Thursday.
Although Okta’s (OKTA) dual class structure may make it an unlikely target for an activist, some recent language changes in the company’s 10-Q “risk factors” last month are worth evaluating, Gordon Haskett’s Don Bilson wrote in a note earlier on Thursday.
Bilson highlighted that the language in the December 10-Q Okta (OKTA) mentioned “activist investors” in the risk factors section. This language has been used in other companies’ filings before and usually is meaningless, he added. He did highlight that it’s a little unusual for a company to amend its risk factors in a 10-Q, rather than 10-K filing.
It’s still possible that an activist could push the company to evaluate a potential sale, especially due to deal activity in the cyber security space, according to Bilson. Holders of ForgeRock (FORG), a competitor to Okta, approved its $2.3 billion sale to Thoma Bravo earlier on Thursday.
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Okta (OKTA) may be viewed as an activist or takeover target after its shares plunged 70% last year and dropped 4.5% on Wednesday in the wake of a report that the company is reportedly set to lose the executive in charge of the company’s sales at the end of the month.
Okta (OKTA) shares plunged 34% on Sept. 1 after the identity and access management company lowered its billings outlook for the rest of the year.
Okta (OKTA) was scheduled to present at the Needham Growth Conference at 12:45pm EST on Thursday.
Source: Seeking Alpha
