ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Up 2.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• ServiceNow's stock price increased by 2.9%, trading between $909.18 and $913.37, despite a significant drop in trading volume compared to average daily activity.
• Multiple analysts raised their price targets for ServiceNow, with DA Davidson increasing theirs to $1,250.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.
• The company reported earnings of $4.09 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.52, with revenue of $3.22 billion, marking a 22.4% increase year-over-year.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $909.18 and last traded at $913.37. Approximately 443,692 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,701,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $887.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on NOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $975.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,060.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,150.00 price objective (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,115.20.

ServiceNow Stock Up 4.9%

The company has a market cap of $193.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $947.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $926.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.52. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $895.05, for a total transaction of $1,299,612.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409,037.85. This represents a 76.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 1,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $866.45, for a total transaction of $1,526,684.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,228 shares in the company, valued at $10,594,950.60. The trade was a 12.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,668 shares of company stock valued at $14,373,737 over the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 87,501.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,689,361 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,141,108,000 after buying an additional 2,686,291 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,589,235,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 1st quarter worth $1,817,535,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in ServiceNow by 1,586.5% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 933,209 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $742,965,000 after buying an additional 877,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 131.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,480,526 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,178,706,000 after purchasing an additional 840,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

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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