What happened
Shares of Okta (OKTA +1.41%) were climbing today after health officials in the U.S. recommended that use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine be paused until more information about potential blood clots can be assessed.
The tech stock was up 6% as of 1:57 p.m. EDT.
So what
Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine not be used right now "out of an abundance of caution." The agencies are reviewing "six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot" that occurred in those individuals after taking the vaccine. To date, 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered.
Image source: Getty Images.
So why would Okta's stock rise on this news? Because some investors are thinking that if there are fewer vaccines being distributed in the U.S. it could slow down the pace of companies bringing their employees back into the office. And if that happens, then the services offered by some tech companies, like Okta, will continue to be in high demand.
Okta offers identity and access management (IAM) services that help companies manage logins and data access for customers and employees.
Now what
Okta's share price has been a bit volatile since the beginning of this year, as investors try to adjust their investment strategies based on whether or not they think the U.S. economy is opening back up. This could likely cause more instability from tech stocks in the coming months.
