BTIG Research Has Lowered Expectations for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price

Key Points

• BTIG Research lowered its price target on ServiceNow from $200 to $185 but kept a "buy" rating; the consensus analyst target is roughly $188.19, implying about an 80% upside from the stock's ~ $102 price.
• ServiceNow beat Q4 estimates, reporting $0.92 EPS vs. $0.89 expected and $3.57B in revenue (up 20.7% YoY), although the shares trade at a high valuation (P/E ~61.4) and have a one‑year range of $98–$211.
• Insider selling and heavy institutional ownership: insiders sold 16,237 shares (~$1.7M) this quarter while institutions hold about 87.18% of the stock, with several funds increasing their stakes.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at BTIG Research from $200.00 to $185.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. BTIG Research's target price indicates a potential upside of 80.56% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NOW. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $175.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on ServiceNow from $225.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on ServiceNow from $185.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.19.

ServiceNow Price Performance

NOW stock opened at $102.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $109.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.19. ServiceNow has a 1 year low of $98.00 and a 1 year high of $211.48.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 13.16%.ServiceNow's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServiceNow news, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 1,400 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.71, for a total transaction of $147,994.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,781,652.94. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 9,641 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.93, for a total value of $1,021,271.13. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.01. This trade represents a 45.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,237 shares of company stock valued at $1,697,162 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen Klingenstein LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in ServiceNow by 286.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 53,650 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 39,756 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in ServiceNow by 428.0% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 91,158 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $13,964,000 after purchasing an additional 73,894 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in ServiceNow by 299.4% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,283 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,550,000 after purchasing an additional 36,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ServiceNow by 428.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 11,610 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 9,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.