ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading 10% Higher - Still a Buy?

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) traded up 10% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $137.51 and last traded at $138.3410. Approximately 5,035,624 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 23,279,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.80.

Key Stories Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings beat, raised guidance and “Claudeforce” AI announcement helped reset investor expectations for enterprise software and boosted sentiment across the sector. ServiceNow climbed alongside Salesforce and Adobe as the software ETF also advanced. Salesforce Soars 14% as Claudeforce and a Guidance Raise End the Slump, ServiceNow Climbs 5%, Adobe Advances 3%
• Positive Sentiment: Tech Mahindra expanded a multiyear partnership to scale AI deployments on the ServiceNow platform, supporting the company’s positioning as an enterprise AI infrastructure and workflow provider. ServiceNow In Focus Following Tech Mahindra AI Deal As Fair Value Debate Builds
• Positive Sentiment: Pricefx announced an integration that brings AI-powered pricing and deal-optimization tools into ServiceNow workflows, adding another example of partners expanding the platform’s commercial use cases. Pricefx Announces Integration with ServiceNow
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention was reinforced by favorable commentary from Jim Cramer and bullish analysis describing ServiceNow as well positioned for the AI software cycle. ServiceNow Stock Is Trending After Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: ServiceNow shares have rallied sharply over the past month following its latest earnings report, which exceeded expectations on earnings and revenue and showed 24% year-over-year revenue growth. Investors are now debating whether additional AI-driven re-rating can support a move toward $150. ServiceNow Just Ripped 29% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and cooling momentum indicators recently pressured the stock after its rapid advance. At a high valuation, with a reported P/E ratio above 85, ServiceNow may remain sensitive to shifts in AI enthusiasm, interest rates and investor expectations. What’s Going On With ServiceNow Stock Wednesday?
• Negative Sentiment: Datadog was judged to have an edge over ServiceNow because of faster growth, stronger earnings surprises and expanding AI opportunities, highlighting competitive and valuation risks for NOW. DDOG vs. NOW: Which Cloud Software Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOW has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ServiceNow from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $248.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $134.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.24.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.06. The firm has a market cap of $140.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.94.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $188,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,690 shares in the company, valued at $5,864,264. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOW. Brown Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 11,937 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Advus Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in ServiceNow by 71.7% during the second quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,763 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the second quarter worth approximately $28,275,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 9,980.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,496,061 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $15,338,369,000 after purchasing an additional 152,963,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 376.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,857 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 11,741 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServiceNow

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.

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