It's taken a while, but the stock market appeared to be getting back into the groove of things on Monday. In particular, after having suffered a bear-market decline of more than 20% earlier in the year, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.05%) has bounced back sharply. As of 2:15 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq was up another 1.5%, erasing half of its losses since last November and giving investors more confidence for the future.
Within the Nasdaq, though, there were some mixed moves. Starbucks (SBUX 0.53%) made a sudden about-face that could be good for employees and its business but will nevertheless take away from the short-term prospects for the stock price. Meanwhile, Okta (OKTA -1.79%) managed to soar even with Wall Street analysts posing some difficult questions for the identity verification software platform provider. Read on to learn more about both companies.
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Schultz stops Starbucks' stock buybacks
Shares of Starbucks were down more than 4% on Monday afternoon even on a solid day for the overall market. Investors gave a cool welcome back to Howard Schultz, who started his latest stint as chief executive officer today.
Schultz agreed to come back as CEO when former top executive Kevin Johnson decided last month to retire. Schultz previously led Starbucks from 1986 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2017, when Johnson came on board.
Often, when instrumental personalities return to previous leadership roles, it can signal a renewed effort to restore a company's overall purpose. Schultz clearly tried to follow that script, inviting employees to "join in the reimagination of the company he built," in the words of Starbucks' press release.
However, shareholders weren't entirely convinced by Schultz's decision to have Starbucks suspend its stock repurchase program. Although the interim CEO noted that the move will free up cash to invest in employees and store locations, it was nevertheless disappointing for investors who've seen the value of their Starbucks stock fall more than 30% in less than nine months.
Okta defies downbeat analysts
Elsewhere, shares of Okta moved higher by 8%. That wasn't out of line with gains in other previously beaten-down software-as-a-service stocks, but it came despite some mixed comments from Wall Street.
A couple of analysts were downright negative about Okta's prospects. Wells Fargo cut its price target on Okta's stock by $60 to $175 per share, although it kept an overweight rating on the identity verification specialist's stock. Meanwhile, analysts at BTIG lopped $57 per share off their target to $216 but maintained a buy rating. Even so, BTIG seemed bullish in the long run, expecting that Okta's recently disclosed breach will only have a short-term impact on the business and the stock price.
Meanwhile, analysts at Mizuho Financial Group were more optimistic. They kept a $225 price target and buy rating on Okta's stock, arguing that the company offers a more attractive balance of risk and reward now than it did when the stock price was approaching $300 per share.
Investors will get a better idea of what impact the recent breach has had on Okta's business when the company reports its latest financial results next month. For now, though, shareholders seem to think there's too much pessimism baked into the stock and are hoping for a bigger rebound.
