Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Okta Inc. (“Okta” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OKTA) between March 5, 2021 and March 22, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Okta provides identity solutions and cybersecurity products and services for enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, universities, non-profits, and government agencies in the U.S. and internationally.
Plaintiff alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants allegedly made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Okta had inadequate cybersecurity controls; (ii) as a result, Okta’s systems were vulnerable to data breaches; (iii) Okta ultimately did experience a data breach caused by a hacking group, which potentially affected hundreds of Okta customers; (iv) Okta initially did not disclose and later downplayed the severity of the data breach; (v) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to have a material negative impact on Okta’s business, financial condition, and reputation; and (vi) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
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On or around March 21, 2022, hackers known as LAPSUS$ posted screenshots on their Telegram channel showing what they claimed was Okta’s internal company environment. Thereafter, on March 22, 2022, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Defendant Todd McKinnon, stated on his Twitter account that “[i]n late January 2022, Okta detected an attempt to compromise the account of a third party customer support engineer working for one of our subprocessors”; that “[t]he matter was investigated and contained by the subprocessor”; that “[w]e believe the screenshots shared online are connected to this January event”; and that “[b]ased on our investigation to date, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity beyond the activity detected in January. On this news, Okta’s stock price fell $2.98 per share, or 1.76%, to close at $166.43 per share on March 22, 2022.
On March 22, 2022, during after-market hours, the Company’s Chief Security Officer, Defendant David Bradbury, stated on Okta’s website, inter alia, that “[a]fter a thorough analysis of [the LAPSUS$] claims, we have concluded that a small percentage of customers – approximately 2.5% – have potentially been impacted and whose data may have been viewed or acted upon.” Okta was subsequently downgraded by Raymond James from “strong buy” to “market perform,” noting, among other things, that “[w]hile partners were willing to trust Okta’s track record, the handling of its latest security incident adds to our mounting concerns.” After these disclosures, the Company’s stock price fell $17.88 per share, or 10.74%, to close at $148.55 per share on March 23, 2022.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 19, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery does not require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.