ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays initiated coverage on ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) with an "overweight" rating and a $132 price target, implying roughly a 55% upside from the prior close.
• Shares fell 17.4% to $85.13 after Q1 results — revenue beat and AI‑driven growth were offset by management warnings of margin pressure from the Armis acquisition and regional deal delays, triggering broad analyst cuts and heavy selling.

Stock analysts at Barclays started coverage on shares of ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $132.00 price target on the information technology services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 55.05% from the stock's previous close.

NOW has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $177.00 to $154.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer set a $130.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.18.

ServiceNow Stock Down 17.4%

Shares of NYSE:NOW traded down $17.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,638,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,425,287. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.83. The company has a market capitalization of $88.21 billion, a PE ratio of 51.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. ServiceNow has a fifty-two week low of $81.24 and a fifty-two week high of $211.48.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.97. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.71, for a total transaction of $147,994.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,781,652.94. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 3,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.77, for a total transaction of $376,141.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $820,367.97. This represents a 31.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,237 shares of company stock worth $1,697,162. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 4.2% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in ServiceNow by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,519 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in ServiceNow by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 205.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 906 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat revenue expectations and showed AI-driven growth; management raised annual subscription revenue guidance, underscoring demand for Now Assist and other AI products. ServiceNow Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Bill McDermott publicly reiterated strong AI product sales and confidence that AI will drive durable revenue—an important narrative that supports longer‑term growth expectations. Fortune: Investors continue to punish ServiceNow despite strong earnings and CEO forecast
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow completed the Armis acquisition, expanding security, OT/IoT and cyber‑exposure capabilities—strategic for cross‑sell and AI/security use cases. (Longer‑term product/market benefit.) InsiderMonkey: ServiceNow completes Armis acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Some sell‑side firms still maintain Outperform/Buy ratings (and a few raised targets, e.g., Bernstein), reflecting mixed analyst views—bulls cite AI adoption, bears focus on near‑term execution risks. MarketScreener: Bernstein raises price target
• Negative Sentiment: ServiceNow warned the Armis deal will pressure margins (~75 bps full‑year; ~125 bps in Q2) and acquisition integration costs weigh on near‑term profitability—investors reacted negatively to the margin hit. WSJ: Armis deal will weigh on margins
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged deal delays in the Middle East tied to the Iran conflict (~75 bps headwind to subscription revenue in Q1) — a tangible, near‑term revenue drag that spooked investors. Yahoo Finance: Stock tumbles as war in Iran impacts sales growth
• Negative Sentiment: Wall of analyst price‑target cuts and downward adjustments across major banks amplified selling pressure; many firms trimmed targets despite keeping Buy/Outperform ratings. Benzinga: Analysts cut forecasts after Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Sector‑wide AI disruption fears and rising short interest among hedge funds intensified downside volatility; traders treated the quarter as proof of near‑term execution risk despite longer‑term AI thesis. Reuters: ServiceNow draws hedge fund shorts

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.

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