Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In Okta To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2022) - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Okta, Inc. ("Okta" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: OKTA) and reminds investors of the July 19, 2022 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.
If you suffered losses exceeding $100,000 investing in Okta stock or options between March 5, 2021 and March 22, 2022 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/OKTA.
There is no cost or obligation to you.
Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading minority and Woman-owned national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia.
As detailed below, the lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) Okta had inadequate cybersecurity controls; (2) as a result, Okta's systems were vulnerable to data breaches; (3) Okta ultimately did experience a data breach caused by a hacking group, which potentially affected hundreds of Okta customers; (4) Okta initially did not disclose and subsequently downplayed the severity of the data breach; (5) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to have a material negative impact on Okta's business, financial condition, and reputation; and (6) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times
On or around March 21, 2022, hackers known as LAPSUS$ 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 ("CEO"), Defendant Todd McKinnon ("McKinnon"), posted a statement on his Twitter account, disclosing 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" (emphasis added); 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 $166.43 per share on March 22, 2022.
Later, on March 22, 2022, during after-market hours, in a statement on Okta's website, the Company's Chief Security Officer ("CSO"), Defendant David Bradbury ("Bradbury"), disclosed, inter alia, that "[a]fter a thorough analysis of [the LAPSUS$] 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."
Following Okta's updated statement, multiple news outlets reported that hundreds of the Company's clients were potentially affected by the January 2022 data breach. For example, on March 23, 2022, CNN published an article entitled "Okta concedes hundreds of clients could be affected by breach[,]" noting that, despite the Company's statement that "a small percentage of customers - approximately 2.5% - have potentially been impacted[,]" the Company "has over 15,000 customers, according to its website." That same day, Reuters and others published similar reports
Separately, Okta was 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."
Following Okta's after-market update and Raymond James downgrade, the Company's stock price fell $17.88 per share, or 10.74%, to close at $148.55 per share on March 23, 2022.
As a result of Defendants' wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company's securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Okta's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.
Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131182
