ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Rating Upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• ServiceNow was upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane from "neutral" to "outperform" with a $140 price target, implying roughly a 23.3% upside from the prior close.
• The company beat Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of $0.92 vs. $0.89 and revenue of $3.57 billion (up 20.7% year-over-year), with a market cap around $118.7 billion and a P/E near 68.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive — three Strong Buy, 32 Buy, five Hold and two Sell — with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.61.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued on Monday. The brokerage presently has a $140.00 price target on the information technology services provider's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.33% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on ServiceNow from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $200.00 price target on ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $175.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.61.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE NOW opened at $113.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. ServiceNow has a twelve month low of $98.00 and a twelve month high of $211.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.07. The firm has a market cap of $118.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.99.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 13.16%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ServiceNow will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paul Fipps sold 3,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.77, for a total value of $376,141.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $820,367.97. This represents a 31.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.17, for a total transaction of $151,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 46,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,697,323.10. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,237 shares of company stock worth $1,697,162 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 404.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $15,619,771,000 after buying an additional 81,752,460 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in ServiceNow by 406.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,896,597 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $7,337,280,000 after acquiring an additional 38,441,898 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ServiceNow by 371.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,395,663 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,962,692,000 after acquiring an additional 25,517,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ServiceNow by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,591,425,000 after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 335.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,733,483 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,482,543,000 after purchasing an additional 17,514,679 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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