Shares of Okta, Inc. (OKTA) rose 2.1% in extended trading on Friday after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the company will join the S&P 500, replacing Kenvue (KVUE). The change takes effect before trading begins on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The move rounded out a series of related changes that the index provider announced across its smaller benchmarks.

The after-hours gain followed a difficult regular session. Okta fell 6.14% as technology stocks sold off, and it marked a rough Friday for the broader market too: the S&P 500 closed down 1.82% at 7,580.07. Okta's post-close rebound only cut into the day's loss, but it gave the stock a lift at the close.

Okta provides cloud-based identity and access management software that helps organizations manage user sign-ins and secure access to applications. Identity and access management is a core piece of enterprise cybersecurity, a market that has expanded as more corporate applications move to the cloud. Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol and Band-Aid products, is leaving the index because it is being acquired by Kimberly-Clark (KMB), a deal expected to close soon, subject to final closing conditions. When an acquisition takes a company off the market, S&P has to fill the gap. Okta comes into the benchmark from the S&P MidCap 400. The index provider picks new members based on factors such as company size, profitability, and how actively the stock trades.

Why index inclusion matters

The S&P 500 is more than a scorecard. Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that replicate the index hold trillions of dollars, and S&P estimates roughly $16 trillion was invested in funds tracking the benchmark in 2025. When a company joins, those funds generally need to buy its stock to match the index, which can lift trading volume and push up the price of a newly added name, at least for a while. The pattern is a familiar one: stocks added to the benchmark often see a burst of trading activity around the effective date as index-tracking funds adjust their portfolios, with S&P rebalancing trades typically concentrated in the closing auction of that session. Investing.com described the inclusion as a short-term liquidity catalyst, noting that passive funds must buy the stock to match its weighting in the index.

A chain reaction across smaller indexes

Okta's promotion also sets off a series of changes across S&P's smaller index tiers. Glaukos (GKOS), which makes treatments for eye diseases, will leave the S&P SmallCap 600 and move up to the MidCap 400 to take Okta's place. McGrath RentCorp (MGRC), a rental company, will fill the spot Glaukos leaves in the SmallCap 600. McGrath's stock rose 2.8% in extended trading on the news.

A separate change in the SmallCap 600 will add aerospace and defense supplier Loar Holdings (LOAR), which replaces LiveRamp (RAMP). LiveRamp is being acquired by Publicis Groupe in a deal expected to close soon. Loar rose 3.5% in after-hours trading. It had closed the regular session down 4.17%.

Other names tied to the reshuffle were mixed in regular trading. Kimberly-Clark fell 1.89%, Kenvue slid 1.28%, and Glaukos dropped 2.01%, while LiveRamp rose 0.71%.

All of the after-hours moves came after the close on Friday, once the index changes were announced: Okta was up 2.1%, McGrath was up 2.8%, and Loar was up 3.5%. The near-term milestones are straightforward: Okta's entry becomes official before the open on Nov. 4, and both removals that set the reshuffle in motion hinge on acquisitions — Kimberly-Clark's purchase of Kenvue and Publicis Groupe's purchase of LiveRamp — that are still expected to close soon, subject to final closing conditions.