ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading 1.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s share price shot up 1.7% on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $141.00 to $174.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as high as $140.16 and last traded at $137.75. Approximately 10,699,523 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 22,726,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.47.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson set a $170.00 price objective on ServiceNow and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on ServiceNow from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on ServiceNow from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.51.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, insider Jacqueline Canney sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,886.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,796. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul Chamberlain sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.50, for a total value of $365,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,960,645. The trade was a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,081 shares of company stock worth $1,937,904. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its ServiceNow price target from $141 to $174 and reiterated an “overweight” rating. The new target implies approximately 26.5% upside from the referenced share price, providing a significant bullish catalyst. Cantor Fitzgerald Boosts ServiceNow Price Target to $174
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow is benefiting from broad demand for workflow software, cross-selling opportunities and partnerships supporting artificial-intelligence adoption. These factors could help the company sustain growth while competing with Salesforce and Microsoft. NOW Rides on Strong Workflow Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: A market discussion characterized NOW as a “tricky” stock because analyst views vary widely. The debate centers on whether ServiceNow can become a major disruptor in AI software or be disrupted by rapidly changing AI technologies. Bull v. Bear: NOW Seeks to Become Disruptor Amid AI Software Disruption
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison with TD SYNNEX examines which information-technology services stock offers better value. The analysis reinforces that valuation is an important consideration for NOW investors, particularly given ServiceNow’s premium earnings multiple. SNX vs. NOW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from Salesforce and Microsoft, along with uncertainty over the durability of AI-related software demand, could limit future upside or pressure the stock’s high valuation.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,020,992,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 387.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 45,630 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,990,000 after buying an additional 36,274 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,018,036 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $106,436,000 after buying an additional 353,749 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in ServiceNow by 397.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 544,257 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $83,375,000 after buying an additional 434,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in ServiceNow by 266.0% during the second quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 77,661 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,710,000 after buying an additional 56,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.13. The firm has a market cap of $142.43 billion, a PE ratio of 86.09, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.97.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 11.34%.The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc is a cloud-based enterprise software company that provides digital workflow and automation solutions. Its Now Platform enables organizations to manage and connect business processes across information technology, customer service, human resources, finance, legal operations and other departments.

The company’s products and services include IT service management, IT operations management, customer service management, human resources service delivery, security operations, risk and compliance management, strategic portfolio management and application development tools.