ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• ServiceNow shares opened higher after Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $130 to $176 and maintained an outperform rating; the stock opened at $145.54 versus a prior close of $140.86.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $147.95, despite ratings ranging from strong buy to sell.
• ServiceNow recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.90 in EPS versus $0.86 expected and $3.99 billion in revenue, up 24% year over year; institutional investors own 87.18% of the stock.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $176.00. The stock had previously closed at $140.86, but opened at $145.54. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. ServiceNow shares last traded at $143.8830, with a volume of 2,828,107 shares.

NOW has been the subject of a number of other reports. CLSA began coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ServiceNow from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.87, for a total transaction of $300,767.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,886.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,042 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,796. This trade represents a 20.71% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,081 shares of company stock valued at $1,937,904. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 3.9% in the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,038 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in ServiceNow by 7.0% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 19,131 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Defender Capital LLC. bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,000. First Financial Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,511,000. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $132.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.36. The company has a market capitalization of $147.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.45, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 11.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc is a cloud-based enterprise software company that helps organizations digitize, automate and manage workflows. Its platform connects people, processes and systems across departments, enabling businesses to replace manual, disconnected activities with standardized digital workflows.

The company's products and services support a range of functions, including information technology service management, IT operations management, customer service, human resources, risk and security operations, and software development.

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