ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Arete Research

Key Points

• Arete Research upgraded ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) to a "hold", while the analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $1,149.67.
• ServiceNow beat expectations last quarter with $4.82 EPS (vs. $4.21 expected) and $3.41B in revenue (up 21.8% YoY), and the company will execute a 5-for-1 stock split on Dec. 18.
• Insiders have sold about 3,062 shares (~$2.53M) recently even as institutional investors own roughly 87.18% of the company, which trades at a high valuation (PE ≈ 104.6).

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Arete Research to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on NOW. Mizuho set a $1,150.00 price target on ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $1,150.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ServiceNow from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. DA Davidson set a $1,250.00 target price on ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,120.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,149.67.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE:NOW opened at $865.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. ServiceNow has a fifty-two week low of $678.66 and a fifty-two week high of $1,198.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $873.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $925.99. The company has a market capitalization of $179.96 billion, a PE ratio of 104.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.97.

Shares of ServiceNow are going to split on Thursday, December 18th. The 5-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, December 17th.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information technology services provider reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.61. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, Director Lawrence Jackson sold 265 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $810.22, for a total transaction of $214,708.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $261,701.06. The trade was a 45.07% 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, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $850.00, for a total transaction of $352,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,393,800. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,062 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,585 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in ServiceNow by 200.0% during the third quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ServiceNow during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ServiceNow during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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