Okta drops after company gives weak guidance and announces $6.5 billion Auth0 acquisition

• Okta fell by nearly 10% Thursday as the ID-authentication software company's outlook missed Wall Street's view.
• The company expects a first-quarter adjusted loss of $0.20 to $0.21 a share compared with the consensus of a loss of $0.07.
• Okta plans to buy rival Auth0 in a transaction valued at $6.5 billion.

Okta shares dropped nearly 10% Thursday following a quarterly outlook that missed Wall Street's estimate while the identity-authentication software maker said it plans to buy rival Auth0 in a $6.5 billion stock deal.

The company late Wednesday projected a first-quarter adjusted loss of $0.20 to $0.21 per share, which was wider than the consensus estimate of a per-share loss of $0.07. It also expects year-over-year growth in total revenue to $237 million to $239 million compared with Wall Street's view of $237 million.

Shares of Okta lost as much as 9.6% when it hit an intraday low of $218. The stock later pared the decline to 4.5%. Over the past 12 months, the shares have advanced about 79%.

The company's projection came within its fourth-quarter financial report and alongside a separate announcement about planning to buy Auth0. Okta said its guidance does not include any potential impact from the proposed Auth0 deal.

Okta said the pending deal will stoke growth in the $55 billion identity market. Auth0 will run as an independent business unit inside of Okta and both of its platforms will be supported and integrated over time.

The transaction "will accelerate our innovation, opening up new ways for our customers to leverage identity to meet their business needs," said Todd McKinnon, Okta's CEO and co-founder, in the statement.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted adjusted earnings of $0.06 a share, swinging from a loss of $0.01 a year ago. Revenue of $234.7 million increased from $167.3 million in the same period a year ago.