ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Up 3.7% – Should You Buy?

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s stock price was up 3.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $107.69 and last traded at $107.0620. Approximately 22,732,089 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 20,202,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NOW. HSBC dropped their price objective on ServiceNow from $266.40 to $226.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $180.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of ServiceNow to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.01.

ServiceNow Trading Up 3.7%

The firm has a market cap of $111.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 13.16%.ServiceNow’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other ServiceNow news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $249,352.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,294.55. This trade represents a 36.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawrence Jackson sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.04, for a total value of $214,708.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,615 shares in the company, valued at $261,701.06. The trade was a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 14,770 shares of company stock worth $2,340,341 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 4.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in ServiceNow by 13.8% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 264 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

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.