ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 1.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shot up 1.6% on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $141.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as high as $105.33 and last traded at $104.8990. Approximately 20,436,051 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 23,597,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.24.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NOW. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday. Citic Securities decreased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $168.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $125.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 16,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total value of $1,482,352.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,312.60. This represents a 35.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total transaction of $103,238.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,212.72. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on ServiceNow to $141 from $122 and reiterated an overweight view, signaling confidence that the stock can recover from current levels. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish articles argue ServiceNow’s AI strategy is more about execution than disruption, with the company’s workflow platform and recent integration updates with Ciroos and Esri seen as supportive of long-term demand. ServiceNow (NOW) Adds Ciroos And Esri To Bring AI And GIS Into Workflows
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple previews ahead of earnings highlight that ServiceNow’s own numbers have been contradicting the bearish AI narrative, which could help investor sentiment if results hold up. ServiceNow Is Down 51% as Wall Street Bets AI Will Gut Its Business. July 22 Will Show Who’s Right.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from value investors says the stock’s decline may be creating a long-term buying opportunity if fundamentals remain solid, which can support dip-buying interest. Should You Buy ServiceNow (NOW) Before Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on upcoming quarterly results and key operating metrics, making the next earnings report the main near-term catalyst for the stock. Unveiling ServiceNow (NOW) Q2 Outlook: Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: A critical ServiceNow code execution flaw is reportedly being exploited in attacks, which could raise security concerns and create a temporary headline overhang. Critical ServiceNow code execution flaw now exploited in attacks

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 404.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after acquiring an additional 81,752,460 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 406.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,896,597 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $7,337,280,000 after purchasing an additional 38,441,898 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 371.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,395,663 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,962,692,000 after purchasing an additional 25,517,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ServiceNow by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,591,425,000 after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in ServiceNow by 335.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,733,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,482,543,000 after purchasing an additional 17,514,679 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $108.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.51, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company’s flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.