ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading 1% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Needham raised its ServiceNow price target to $155 from $115 and maintained a buy rating, helping shares rise about 1% in Friday trading. Analysts collectively rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus target of $145.71.
• ServiceNow reported quarterly EPS of $0.90 versus the $0.86 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.99 billion and increased 24% year over year.
• The stock trades at a relatively high valuation, including a P/E ratio of 82.81, while insiders have sold approximately $1.94 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) rose 1% during trading on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $155.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as high as $134.45 and last traded at $132.4890. Approximately 10,098,173 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 23,036,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.17.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.87, for a total value of $300,767.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total value of $1,082,886.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,145,796. The trade was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,081 shares of company stock worth $1,937,904. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raises ServiceNow target to $155: Needham & Company upgraded NOW to “buy” and increased its price target from $115 to $155, implying approximately 17% upside from the referenced share price. The move was part of a broader group of analyst target increases and is the clearest near-term catalyst for the stock. ServiceNow analyst forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Agentic AI adoption is accelerating: ServiceNow is described as a leader in enterprise agentic AI, with production deployments increasing ninefold over nine months. Analysts expect AI-related revenue to grow substantially through 2030, supporting the long-term growth narrative. ServiceNow agentic AI analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AI visibility and ecosystem activity: ServiceNow will partner with Fortune on an October AI summit focused on commercializing AI, while RoboMQ launched an identity-governance application on the ServiceNow Store. These developments reinforce ServiceNow’s positioning as an enterprise workflow and AI platform, although they are unlikely to materially affect near-term revenue. Fortune AIQ Summit partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on AI and cybersecurity highlights ServiceNow’s strategic relevance as businesses seek integrated automation, security and governance tools. However, the reports provide limited new financial guidance. AI and cybersecurity reshaping ServiceNow
• Negative Sentiment: Despite its growth prospects, AI revenue remains a relatively small portion of ServiceNow’s overall business, and the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to any slowdown in enterprise spending or AI monetization.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

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

ServiceNow Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $136.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.81, 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 two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 16.45%. ServiceNow's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS 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.

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