ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 0.6% - Still a Buy?

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) rose 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,027.49 and last traded at $1,021.11. Approximately 202,426 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,845,712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,014.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NOW. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,025.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James reduced their price target on ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,000.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ServiceNow from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,062.50.

ServiceNow Stock Up 0.5%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $874.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $974.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $211.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.97.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $923.72, for a total value of $2,720,355.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,654.28. This represents a 44.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $964.70, for a total transaction of $4,285,197.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,126 shares in the company, valued at $10,733,252.20. This represents a 28.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,061 shares of company stock valued at $9,515,766 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

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