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

Key Points

• ServiceNow shares jumped after Needham raised its price target from $115 to $155 and maintained a buy rating. The stock opened at $140 versus its prior close of $132.53.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $145.71; several firms recently raised their targets.
• ServiceNow reported quarterly EPS of $0.90, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue reached $3.99 billion and grew 24% year over year. Insiders sold $1.94 million of shares over the past quarter, while institutional investors own 87.18% of the company.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $155.00. The stock had previously closed at $132.53, but opened at $140.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. ServiceNow shares last traded at $138.4940, with a volume of 3,755,749 shares changing hands.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NOW. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul Chamberlain sold 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.50, for a total transaction of $365,850.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,960,645. The trade was a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.87, for a total transaction of $300,767.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 14,081 shares of company stock worth $1,937,904 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 stake in shares of ServiceNow by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in ServiceNow by 15.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 1,519 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in ServiceNow by 2.2% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 205.1% during the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 906 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.97. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $120.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.97.

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

ServiceNow Company Profile

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.

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.