TLDR
- Okta (OKTA) will join the S&P 500 before trading opens Wednesday, Nov. 4, replacing Kenvue (KVUE).
- OKTA stock fell 6% in the regular session Friday, then rose about 2% after hours on the news.
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB) is acquiring Kenvue, which opened the spot in the index.
- Glaukos (GKOS) moves up to the S&P MidCap 400 to take Okta’s place.
- S&P estimates about $16 trillion was invested in funds tracking the index in 2025.
Okta (OKTA) stock rose 2.1% in extended trading on Friday after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company will join the S&P 500. The move came after a rough regular session. Okta fell 6.14% as tech stocks sold off.
The S&P 500 itself closed down 1.82% at 7,580.07. Okta’s after-hours gain only cut into the day’s loss, but it gave the stock a lift at the close.
The change takes effect before trading begins on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Okta replaces Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol and Band-Aid products.
Kenvue is leaving the index because it is being bought by Kimberly-Clark. That deal is 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 from the S&P MidCap 400. S&P 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 copy the index hold trillions of dollars. S&P estimates roughly $16 trillion was invested in funds tracking it in 2025.
When a company joins, those funds generally need to buy its stock to match the index. That can lift trading volume. It can also push up the price of a newly added name, at least for a while.
Investing.com described the inclusion as a short-term liquidity catalyst. Passive funds must buy the stock to match its weighting in the index.
Okta’s promotion also sets off a chain of changes in smaller indexes. Glaukos, which makes treatments for eye diseases, will leave the S&P SmallCap 600. It will take Okta’s spot in the MidCap 400.
Other index moves
McGrath RentCorp (MGRC) will fill the spot Glaukos leaves in the SmallCap 600. Its stock rose 2.8% in extended trading on the news. Not a bad Friday night for a rental company.
There was a separate change in the SmallCap 600 as well. Aerospace and defense supplier Loar Holdings (LOAR) will join the index. It replaces LiveRamp (RAMP), which Publicis Groupe is acquiring 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 in the group were mixed in regular trading. Kimberly-Clark fell 1.89%, Kenvue slid 1.28%, and Glaukos dropped 2.01%. LiveRamp rose 0.71%.
The most recent move came after the close Friday. Okta was up 2.1% in extended trading, McGrath was up 2.8%, and Loar was up 3.5%, all after the index changes were announced.
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