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ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Earns "Buy" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

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Key Points

  • Needham & Company reaffirmed its Buy rating on ServiceNow and set a $115 price target, implying about 20% upside from the current share price.
  • ServiceNow’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $0.90 versus $0.86 expected and revenue of $3.99 billion versus $3.93 billion expected, while revenue rose 24% year over year.
  • Despite bullish analyst sentiment and strong results, the stock has pulled back from its highs; shares recently opened at $95.50 versus a 52-week high of $210.20, while analysts overall still rate it a Moderate Buy.
  • Five stocks we like better than ServiceNow.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $115.00 price objective on the information technology services provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price points to a potential upside of 20.43% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NOW. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $200.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $226.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.32.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ServiceNow

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $95.50 on Thursday. ServiceNow has a twelve month low of $81.24 and a twelve month high of $210.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $98.46 billion, a PE ratio of 56.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $104.67 and its 200 day moving average is $108.16.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 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 net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ServiceNow will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total transaction of $103,238.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,212.72. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 8,927 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.60, for a total transaction of $799,859.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,645,977.60. This represents a 23.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 28,071 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,956 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,512 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 787.2% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 7,674 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 20,679 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,053,000 after buying an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 60.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,524 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 10,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter worth about $404,000. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

ServiceNow Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)

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.

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