** Cybersecurity firm Okta's OKTA.O shares rise 1.4% to $89.45 premarket after Jefferies upgrades to "buy"

** Brokerage raises PT to $125 from $90, an upside of nearly 42% to stock's last close of $88.20

** Expects FY27 adj. EPS of $3.80, higher than Street consensus of $3.66

** Says it sees strong growth cases for the identity and cloud markets heading into 2026

** Sees Okta as a first-mover in addressing identity challenges created by agentic AI

** 16% of respondents in brokerage's survey expect identity businesses to grow the fastest in 2026

** Jefferies names Okta peers Palo Alto Networks PANW.O, Zscaler ZS.O, AvePoint AVPT.O and Crowdstrike CRWD.O as top picks

** As of last close, stock up nearly 12% YTD

(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi)

((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))