Cybersecurity firms CrowdStrike, Okta shares jump after better-than-expected earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings Inc and Okta Inc each gained more than 10% on Thursday after both cybersecurity firms reported better-than-expected quarterly results, driven by strong demand for their products.

CrowdStrike beat estimates when it reported late on Wednesday that its revenue jumped 37% to $731.6 million while adjusted net income more than doubled to $180 million in the second quarter on strong growth in subscriptions to its cloud-based data and identity protection services.

Its projections for third-quarter revenue and net income were also ahead of expectations.

Strong growth in subscription income also helped Okta’s revenue rise 23% to $556 million while its net loss narrowed to $111 million, the company said after the closing bell on Wednesday. The results beat Wall Street analyst forecasts, according to Refinitiv data.

CrowdStrike shares rose as much as 10.2% to $164.41 on Thursday and was last trading at $162, up 8.59%. Shares have soared more than 54% year to date.

Okta’s shares rose 17.6% to $86.50, their highest level since May. The stock was last up 13.5% at $83.47.

Other cybersecurity firms were also trading higher, buoyed by CrowdStrike and Okta. Zscaler Inc rose 5% while the Nasdaq Cybersecurity index was up 1.5%.

Meanwhile, shares of Palo Alto Networks Inc were up nearly 2% on Thursday after the company’s stock jumped 15% last week in a single session as its strong forecast eased fears of a slowdown in the cyber sector.

Multiple analysts raised their price target for the shares of CrowdStrike and Okta in reaction to the news. The median price target for CrowdStrike was $180 while that of Okta stood at $95.

Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike delivers cloud-based cybersecurity protection through its Falcon platform that is used by many large U.S. companies. Okta, which is based in San Francisco, provides mostly identity protection and authentication services through its own cloud network.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Lance Tupper and Mark Porter)