OKTA vs. Fortinet: Which Cybersecurity Stock Should You Bet On?

Okta OKTA and Fortinet FTNT are both major players in the field of cybersecurity. While OKTA focuses on identity and access management, providing cloud-based solutions that help businesses safeguard user data, Fortinet is a well-known provider of network security appliances and a Unified Threat Management network solution.The global security market is expected to benefit from growing usage of generative AI, machine learning and the cloud. Gartner expects global end-user spending on information security to hit $212 billion this year, growing 15.1% year over year. This bodes well for both Okta and Fortinet.So, Okta or Fortinet, which of these cybersecurity stocks has the greater upside potential? Let’s find out.The Case for OKTAOKTA is benefiting from strong demand for its identity security solutions. An innovative portfolio that includes Okta Identity Governance, Privileged Access, Device Access, Fine Grain Authorization, Identity Security Posture Management and Identity Threat Protection with Okta AI is expected to help OKTA shares surge in 2025.Okta rides on strong demand for new products, with more than 20% of fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 bookings from new products. OKTA’s innovative portfolio is helping the company win clients, driving top-line growth. It exited fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 with 19,650 customers and $4.215 billion in remaining performance obligations, reflecting strong growth prospects for subscription revenues. Customers with more than $100 thousand in Annual Contract Value increased 7% year over year to 4,800.Okta’s offerings include Okta AI, a suite of AI-powered capabilities embedded across several products, which empowers organizations to harness AI to build better experiences and protect against cyberattacks. Okta Platform and Auth0 Platform are compatible with public clouds, on-premises infrastructures and hybrid clouds.Okta is benefiting from a rich partner base that includes the likes of Amazon Web Services, CrowdStrike, Google, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Microsoft, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Plaid, Proofpoint, Salesforce, ServiceNow, VMware, Workday, Yubico and Zscaler. The company has over 7,000 integrations with cloud, mobile, and web applications and IT infrastructure providers as of Jan. 31, 2025.The Case for FTNTFortinet continued to demonstrate strong momentum in network security, driven by its dominance in firewall deployments and secure networking. The company maintains its position as the most deployed firewall vendor globally.A key driver of Fortinet’s performance has been the expansion of its unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform. Fortinet remains the only vendor to organically develop all core SASE capabilities within a single operating system, including next-gen firewall, SD-WAN, DDNA, Secure Web Gateway, CASB, and DLP technologies, improving user experience while reducing complexity and costs.Fortinet has been showcasing growing traction with its sovereign SASE solution, tailored for highly regulated sectors, such as finance and healthcare. This offering ensures full on-premise or in-country data control, addressing compliance needs without compromising performance. As a result, Fortinet’s secure networking business is continuing to gain market share, supported by high performance and a unified approach to security.Fortinet continues to invest in expanding its AI capabilities. The company currently holds more than 500 issued and pending AI patents. New AI capabilities like FortiAI Assist for automating security tasks, FortiAI Protect for advanced threat detection, and FortiAI Secure AI for protecting AI infrastructure are driving clientele.Price Performance and Valuation of FTNT and OKTAYear to date, Fortinet shares have appreciated 10.9%, while OKTA shares have surged 60.5%.OKTA and FTNT Stock’s Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Valuation-wise, FTNT and OKTA shares are currently overvalued, as suggested by a Value Score of D and F.In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales, Fortinet shares are trading at 11.38X, higher than OKTA 7.49X.OKTA and FTNT Valuation Image Source: Zacks Investment Research FTNT’s Earnings Estimate Revision Positive, OKTA’s SteadyThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortinet’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $2.15 per share, up 1.9% over the past 30 days, indicating a 2.74% increase year over year. Fortinet, Inc. Price and Consensus Fortinet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Fortinet, Inc. Quote However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for OKTA’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.09 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a 172.14% jump year over year. Okta, Inc. Price and Consensus Okta, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Okta, Inc. Quote Both FTNT’s and OKTA’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. However, OKTA’s average surprise of 204.9% is better than FTNT’s surprise of 30.98%, reflecting a good quality of earnings beat on a consistent basis.ConclusionFortinet is benefiting from rising demand from large enterprise customers and growth in the company’s security subscriptions. The company is gaining from the robust growth in Fortinet Security Fabric, cloud and Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) offerings. However, OKTA is suffering from challenging macroeconomic conditions due to higher tariffs.Fortinet carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that makes it a better buy compared with Okta, which currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT): Free Stock Analysis Report Okta, Inc. (OKTA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks