Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock

Key Points

• Needham raised ServiceNow’s price target to $155 from $115 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 18% upside from the stock’s $131.19 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $145.71; 36 analysts rate the stock a Buy.
• ServiceNow exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.90 in EPS and $3.99 billion in revenue, with revenue up 24% year over year. Insiders sold shares worth about $1.94 million during the latest quarter.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $115.00 to $155.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective points to a potential upside of 18.15% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citic Securities reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $168.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.71.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE NOW opened at $131.19 on Friday. ServiceNow has a twelve month low of $81.24 and a twelve month high of $194.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $135.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.99, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $119.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.75.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 16.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

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

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 540.0% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 160 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 165 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 432.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC now owns 165 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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