ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Given Market Outperform Rating at JMP Securities

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating restated by research analysts at JMP Securities in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,300.00 price target on the information technology services provider's stock. JMP Securities' price target would suggest a potential upside of 33.52% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,000.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded ServiceNow from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,010.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.77.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NOW stock traded down $4.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $973.66. The company had a trading volume of 310,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,212. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $201.55 billion, a PE ratio of 142.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.08. ServiceNow has a 12 month low of $637.99 and a 12 month high of $1,198.09. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $840.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $969.13.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.26. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. ServiceNow's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total transaction of $1,287,123.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,564.50. This trade represents a 32.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total value of $341,896.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 4,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,408,026.60. The trade was a 7.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,692 shares of company stock valued at $18,173,444. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 113.3% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 32 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 620.0% in the 1st quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 36 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Now platform for end-to-end digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, and collaboration and development tools.

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