Why Okta Stock Plunged Today

Shares of Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) , the cloud-based identity software company, were taking a dive after the company reported third-quarter numbers that beat headline estimates, but its guidance missed the mark in some key metrics.

As a result, the stock was down 16.1% as of 11:32 a.m. ET on the news.

Image source: Getty Images.

Okta is still stuck in second gear

Okta's revenue growth was solid, but investors seem to be hoping that the company can accelerate growth back toward the 40% mark where it was growing for most of the pandemic.

Revenue in the quarter rose 16% to $646 million, which was ahead of estimates at $632.9 million. Current remaining performance obligations (cRPO), a reflection of its backlog over the next year, increased 13% to $2 billion.

On the bottom line, adjusted operating income jumped from $59 million to $148 million, and the company reported its first quarter of generally accepted accounting principles ( GAAP ) net income at $29 million. On an adjusted basis, earnings jumped from $56 million to $131 million, or $0.72, which beat the consensus at $0.61.

CEO Todd McKinnon said, "We're delivering all of this product innovation while achieving record profitability and maintaining strong cash flow."

Growth is expected to slow

Okta forecast just 11% revenue growth to a range of $648 million to $650 million in the third quarter, which was still better than the consensus at $639.1 million, and it sees cRPO slowing to between $1.985 billion and $1.99 billion, which is actually a sequential decline from the second quarter.

On the bottom line, it called for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.57 to $0.58, again a sequential decline but better than the consensus at $0.55.

Okta did raise its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $2.58-$2.63 from $2.35-$2.40, which was ahead of the consensus at $2.42.

The company has historically given conservative guidance so investors should take those forecasts with a grain of salt. Given that, the sell-off looks like it could be a buying opportunity, especially with Okta now trading at a forward P/E of about 31 based on adjusted earnings.

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Okta. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Okta. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .